Legends of oz, the final battle
by Peter1312
Summary: (prequel to another adventure.) its been nearly a year now since dorothy had last been to oz, and things were relatively well, her friend ellie had come for a visit and she was please by this. but when she finds herself taking care of the grand child of oz himself. she finds herself having to protect not just oz, but kansas from the jester's wrath. rated T for now
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer, I don't own movies, franchise, well you get the picture**

It had been nearly a year since Dorothy's last visit to Oz, being turned into a statue was just a mere memory now. It was summer again and coming close to her birthday once more. Dorothy had taken to walking around the farm during the summer when she wasn't at the library, she had a relatively good school year, she had passed as one of the top students, she had gotten into a creative writing class, and she wrote about Oz as her subject. Her aunt and uncle had also gotten her a pair of flats that she wore on days that it wasn't raining, they were silver, just like the ones she had when she was in the emerald city.

"Dorothy!? Where are you?" came aunt em's voice from the farm house.

Dorothy looked and saw Toto running at her barking. She picked him up and he licked her on the face, causing her to giggle.

"Dorothy we have company coming, come on and wash up." Came aunt em's voice again.

This made Dorothy smile, aunt Em only told her that they had company when someone they all liked was coming to call. Dorothy ran to the house as quickly as her legs could carry her, when she got the farm house she met Dorothy with a rather soaked wash towel, she wiped off Dorothy's face till Dorothy sputtered and spit a few times.

"Auntie Em, I'm not a little kid anymore you don't have to do that." Dorothy said laughing.

"What kind of aunt would I be if I didn't treat my niece like a little kid every once?" Auntie Em said chuckling.

"So whose coming?" Dorothy asked walking into the farm house.

"It's a surprise." Aunt Em said.

"What's uncle henry up to today?" Dorothy said noticing his absence and trying to change the subject.

"He's getting a spare part for the tractor." She said sighing and looking at it through the window.

"It's broken down, again?" Dorothy asked looking at it frustrated

"Yep, busted again." Em replied.

Dorothy sighed and picked up Toto. She then walked to her bedroom, walking in she shut the door behind her and slid out of the flats. She then walked over to the mirror and looked at herself in it. She hadn't changed much in the last year. She had gotten about maybe an inch taller, but she still kept her child-like ways of tying her hair in pigtails, but she was still the same regardless. She then sat down on her bed and picked up a sketching pad. She looked through it, she had sketched several dresses, some of which she'd hope would get made for Ellie, other things she had sketched were her friends, the emerald city, and the Kansas scenery. She flipped to the first blank page and picked up a pencil, she began to sketch Toto who was sitting next to her at the time, she didn't get too far before she heard a knock on her window. She turned around and saw Donna, she smiled and got up opening the window.

"Donna, what are you doing here?" Dorothy asked.

"My uncle is here trying to help your uncle fix your tractor so it won't break again, I just tagged along." Donna replied looking over towards where the tractor was.

"Mr. Alistair knows stuff about tractors?" Dorothy asked leaning out the window and looking at her uncle and her principal trying to fix the tractor, Dorothy's aunt Em then walked over and joined them.

"Yea, you'd think a school principal wouldn't know anything about farm business would you? Well neither did I, turns out he has a summer job." Donna replied as a large bang came from the tractor.

"Should we help them?" Dorothy asked leaning out the window again to see a ball of black smoke coming out of the tractor.

"I think it's funny, let's just watch." She replied chuckling.

"So, how's your little sister?" Dorothy asked trying to change the subject.

"She's good, she can't wait to hear your next story." Donna said looking at her.

"Yea, I've got a bunch, if I tried to write down my adventures in Oz, well who knows how many books I'd need." Dorothy said, "Anyways hopefully they finish soon, my aunt says we have company coming over tonight." She added.

"Did she say who?" Donna asked curiously.

"No, but Auntie Em only tells me we have company coming when it's someone I get along with coming over." Dorothy said.

"Who don't you get along with?" Donna asked putting emphasis on the word don't.

They both laughed at this for a bit before they heard Mr. Alistair calling for Donna.

"You should go see what he wants." Dorothy said looking out the window and over to the tractor.

"Yea, he must be done, either that or he need to come back tomorrow." Donna said walking away.

Dorothy left the window open but walked back to the bed, she sat down on it facing the window and went back to sketching Toto. Aunt Em then showed up at the window.

"Dorothy, Mr. Alistair wanted us to say hi to you for him, he'll be leaving soon, I told him that we were having company and he said he didn't want to intrude for too long." She said before walking away.

This made Dorothy smile, her aunt was always in a rush whenever they were to have company or whenever they needed to get something fixed. In this case it was both, she began to wonder who the company was. Toto barked at her a few times before she turned her attention back to him and continued sketching him. She smiled at her dog and eventually finished drawing his face, the sun had begun to set before she got up and shut the window again. That's when a knock came on her door.

"Dorothy, our company will be here in a few minutes, would you mind going out to the barn and get your uncle?" came aunt em's voice from outside the door.

"Sure auntie Em." Dorothy said sliding on her flats.

She then left her room and walked out of the farm house. Walking over to the barn she found her Uncle brushing one of the horses.

"Uncle Henry, Auntie Em told me to get you, our company will be here soon." Dorothy said looking at her uncle.

"Oh, wow, Dorothy, can you go to the back of the barn a get a bucket of water to clean out the feeding trough then? Because I need to get cleaned up." he said getting off the step stool and placing the brush down on it.

"Sure thing Uncle Henry, Tell auntie Em I'll be a few minutes." she said running around to the back of the barn.

She picked up one of the buckets from the ground and filled it up from the rain barrel. She then walked back to the front of the barn and tipped the buckets contents in the feeding trough. She watched as the water picked up the unfinished food from the trough, she then tipped the trough out and dropped the bucket. She heard Toto barking from the farm house. Dorothy smiled and ran back towards the farm house. When she got to the farm house she stood there for a minute to catch her breath. Toto barked and walked back into the house. Dorothy followed and walked over to the dining room she sat down at the table and was about to ask her aunt and uncle who was coming to call, but she felt a pair of hands go over her eyes.

"So, this game again?" Dorothy asked smiling.

"We thought it would be fun." Uncle Henry said chuckling.

"Um, let's see, who would come to call without you telling me who it was?" Dorothy asked.

Dorothy was asking herself this question over and over again in her mind, she was stumped, and no one would play this game with her with the exception of her aunt and uncle. She giggled a bit, and turned her attention back to her thoughts.

"Any ideas?" Auntie Em asked.

"Not really, I'm clueless, you're the only ones who I can think would do this." Dorothy said.

"Are you sure? Think about it." Uncle Henry said.

Dorothy then heard Toto bark with delight, she smiled at this, and she knew that if Toto was content with their visitors then Dorothy should be able to guess. But she couldn't, she honestly had no idea.

"Well, while you're trying to guess I'm going to go get the plates from the kitchen." Auntie Em said getting up.

"What's for dinner?" Dorothy asked curiously hoping she could get the person behind her to speak.

"Meatloaf." Aunt Em shouted from the kitchen.

"Dorothy, are you stumped?" uncle Henry asked as Auntie Em came back into the room and set down the plates.

Dorothy listened to how many plates were being set down, not four plates, but six. Three people had come to call for dinner, but who.

"I'm stumped, I have however noticed that auntie Em set down three extra plates, so who's the extra company?" Dorothy asked smiling.

"Okay then, that was amusing, but we'll give you one hint, Em is the water boiling?" Henry asked.

"Yep, I'll set it up." she said walking to the kitchen.

They all sat there for a few minutes in silence, after those few minutes the house was filled with the smell of peppermint. Dorothy took a deep breath and sighed.

"Peppermint tea?" Dorothy asked smiling.

"Yes, according to our guests, its goes great with most foods." Em said coming out and setting down a teapot.

Dorothy was still pretty stumped. Her aunt and uncle didn't have tea in the house that often. Only when they were having good company or a neighbor recommends it to help with recovering from illness. Dorothy then smiled, though she still couldn't guess, she began to wonder. Who was behind her? Who was covering her eyes?

"Give up?" Uncle Henry asked.

"Yes, who is it." Dorothy said smiling.

The hands were lifted from her eyes and Dorothy turned around. She gasped in surprise when she was who was standing behind her.


	2. The request for audience

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

Dorothy saw, standing before her, Glinda, Ellie, and Alyssa. Dorothy got up and ran over to them. She was immediately pulled into a hug by Ellie, she had grown a bit as well, she was still shorter than Dorothy, but none the less she had grown, her hair was tied up in a ponytail as Dorothy was accustom to seeing. But still she was the same girl she had been when Dorothy last saw her. As they broke from the embrace Dorothy turned to Alyssa, she had gotten taller since they last met, but all in all she was quite the same in all descriptions. They hugged for a minute before Dorothy turned to Glinda. Glinda in her usual way, took Dorothy's chin in her and.

"Dorothy, you've grown up a bit since your last visit to Oz." Glinda said smiling her usual warm smile.

Dorothy and Glinda hugged for a minute before Dorothy decided to question something.

"How did you guys get here, and more importantly how are you going to get back?" Dorothy asked them quite concerned.

Glinda gestured towards the table and they all walked over and sat down.

"Dorothy, as you know, time between Oz and this world used to move in different parallels until recently." Glinda said.

"Yes, I was meaning to ask about that." Dorothy said looking at her.

"Yes, well stuff like this only happens a every few thousand years in Oz, in another year the time difference between our worlds will start to restore itself, and things will progress differently." Glinda said looking at her.

Dorothy nodded not wanted to interrupt as Auntie Em served dinner.

"So we thought, while there was still time in the coming year, that we'd come and visit before you birthday." Ellie said finishing her sister's sentence.

"Thank you Ellie, but I'm perfectly capable of finishing my own sentences." Glinda said.

This made Ellie giggle a bit, Dorothy looked at her and smiled. As they ate Dorothy told her friends about how the last year had gone, and how she was still telling stories about her adventures in Oz to the kids at the local library.

"Sounds like you've had a busy year." Alyssa said chuckling and taking a sip of tea.

"It was, but it was fun." Dorothy said picking up Toto and giving him a piece of meatloaf.

"I see Toto hasn't changed much." Ellie said as Toto jumped off of Dorothy's lap and walked over to Ellie.

Ellie giggled and took off the dress shoes she had been wearing and surrendered them to Toto. They all laughed about this for a minute before returning to the conversation. Soon after they had finished Dinner, Dorothy got up to help clean off the table but Alyssa stopped her.

"Dorothy, allow me, you and Ellie should go and catch up." Alyssa said shooing Dorothy away.

Dorothy wasn't going to fight with Alyssa mostly because she know she'd lose. Dorothy walked back to the living room and found Ellie sitting on the sofa. She smiling, Toto walked over and gave Ellie back her dress shoes. She smiled and pulled them on and got up. Dorothy looked out the window and out at the sky, there was still a shred of sunlight in the sky as the sun was setting. Dorothy motioned for Ellie to come with her, she got up and they both walked out of the farm house.

"I always love the sunset." Dorothy said pointing at the pinkish colored sky as the sun set.

"It's really pretty isn't it?" Ellie asked.

Dorothy looked at her friend and nodded.

"So, how's life in Oz?" Dorothy asked.

"Pretty good, we've all been missing you, the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion wanted me to say hi for them since they couldn't come themselves." Ellie said.

"Well, when you get back, let them know I say hi, I think about you guys often." Dorothy said walking to the fields.

Ellie followed and smiled, she took Dorothy's hand, not wanting to get lost as the sun set and darkness descended over the land.

"Dorothy, you are once again the most popular person in Oz, Glinda had to have the scarecrow bar the doors to the palace area so that people wouldn't barge in and try to ask us questions." Ellie said giggling.

"Sounds like I'm not the only one who's had an interesting year." Dorothy said.

"Nope." Ellie said.

"Dorothy! Ellie! Come inside, it's too dark out now." Came Aunt Em's voice from the farm house.

Dorothy chuckled and they both walked back to the farmhouse, when they got there and walked in Dorothy was surprised to find that Glinda and Alyssa were both gone, she looked at Ellie who didn't seem at all concerned.

"Auntie Em? Where's Glinda and Alyssa?" Dorothy asked a bit concerned.

"There time here was up, they said they needed to return and that they were sorry they didn't get to say goodbye." Henry said walking in.

"But what about Ellie?" Dorothy asked referring to her little friend.

"Dorothy, I'm staying for a few days." Ellie said as she managed to stop giggling.

"Surprised?" Auntie Em asked going over to her niece.

"Quite, Ellie, why didn't you guys tell me at dinner?" Dorothy asked.

"Because we wanted to keep it a surprise, we've been planning this for a few weeks now." Ellie said referring to the mirror.

"Dorothy, though it may surprise you while you've been at the library or wandering about, we've been here, chatting with Glinda, her parents, your friends for the most part." Uncle Henry said.

"But where will she sleep?" Dorothy asked.

"Well, we have extra a few extra mattresses in the closet, or she could sleep on the sofa." Uncle Henry said.

"Ellie?" Dorothy asked looking at her friend.

There wasn't time to talk about this before a knock came on the door. Dorothy turned around and opened it, it was the sheriff.

"Good evening Dorothy, Mr. and Mrs. Gale, um, I've seen you before haven't I?" The sheriff said looking at Ellie.

"Yes, I'm Ellie, the last time you saw me was the incident with the jester." Ellie said curtsying.

"Ah, yes nice to see you again, anyways may I come in?" he asked holding a mini manila envelope.

"Of course, you don't really have to ask you're always welcome." Auntie Em said gesturing for him to come in and sit down.

He nodded and walked in requesting they all assemble in the family room. They all did this and opened the manila envelope. He then handed it to Dorothy.

"This is a letter that was requested to be presented to you now, by a mister Oscar Diggs." The sheriff said as Dorothy took the envelope from him.

"Who?" Dorothy asked taking the letter out of the envelope.

As she removed the letter a small picture fell out. She picked it up and looked at it, it was the picture of a young girl, probably a few years younger than Ellie and herself. She then read the letter aloud.

"_To miss Dorothy gale, if this message has been delivered to you it means I am either on my deathbed or that I have passed on, in the event that I am on my death bed I will have this letter delivered to you as soon as possible, enclosed with this letter is a picture of my granddaughter the only immediate family I have left. So that if the authorities do search this letter before handing it off to you, I will not reveal who I really am until you meet me at my house, yours truly Oscar Diggs." _Dorothy read, then looking at the picture again, it was a black and white photo graph so she couldn't make out too many details but the girl was probably older than she was when this picture was taken.

"Oscar Diggs is currently on his death bed, he's in his house the next county over, he's oddly requested that you have audience with him and his granddaughter before he dies, he asked for you to be brought there as soon as possible." The sheriff said.

"But who is he?" Dorothy asked.

"we asked the same question, he said you'd know when you saw him, we sent a man over to his house, he seems like a nice man, without malicious intentions, his granddaughter is probably about your age or maybe a year or two younger." He responded.

"Well that's fair enough, you shouldn't go against the wishes of a dying man." Ellie said, "and if you know him in some way, then he's probably nice enough." She added.

"Fair enough Ellie, so can you escort me to the house tomorrow?" Dorothy asked the sheriff.

"Sure, what time?" He asked.

"Seven would be a relatively good time." Dorothy said looking at the clock.

"So I'll pick you up and your aunt and uncle can follow in their truck if you'd like." The sheriff said getting up and looking at them.

"I think that seems like a good idea." Uncle Henry said.

"Fair enough, well I must be going." The sheriff said nodding and walking out of the room.

"See you in the morning." Dorothy said.

The sheriff nodded as he walked out shutting the door behind him. Ellie then got up and walked over to Dorothy's aunt and uncle offering to help them get the extra mattresses out of the closet. Dorothy then got up and slid off her flats picking them up she walked over to the closet and helped them all get the extra mattresses out, they then carried them to Dorothy's room and set them down on the floor at the foot of the bed. Auntie Em then went on to tell Ellie what doors were what in the house, and helped Ellie with her suitcase which Dorothy noticed had been stashed in the closet out of sight. Dorothy then when to her dresser and pulled out a night dress. She then walked out of her room and to the bathroom and changed into it. She emerged a few minutes later taking out her pigtails. She then walked back to her room and found Ellie sitting on her bed, she too had changed into a night dress. Dorothy smiled at Ellie and walked over to her bed.

"You know I was thinking, the name Oscar Diggs, it sounds a bit familiar but I don't know where I've heard it before." Ellie said getting off the bed.

Dorothy smiled and put her dress and hair ribbons on top of the drawer, she looked in the mirror and saw that Toto was in the corner playing with Ellie's dress shoes. She laughed at this and sat down on her bed.

"I know, as I think about it more I feel like heard before." Dorothy said

"Well I guess we won't know until morning will we?" Ellie asked lying back on the mattresses that were on the floor.

"Right, anyways it is getting a bit late, eight o'clock." Dorothy said looking at the clock. She leaned over and turned off the lamp next to her bed.

"Good night Dorothy." Ellie said.

"Night Ellie." Dorothy said as she lied down and fell asleep


	3. The last words of oz himself

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

Dorothy awoke at around five that morning. She sat up to find that her bedroom door was open, Ellie then walked in, she had changed into the blue dress that she often wore. She then tossed Dorothy an apple and smiled. She then walked out shutting the door behind her. Dorothy then got up and placed the apple on her dresser. She opened her dresser and pulled out her usual outfit. After she changed into it she picked up the apple and took a bite. She looked at the clock. It would be a while before the sheriff got here, and at least another hour before her aunt and uncle were awake. She smiled as she looked out the window and saw the silhouette of Ellie playing with Toto. She went to her dresser and pulled out a pair of light blue dress socks, putting them on she slid into her flats and left her room. Walking out of the farm house she continued to eat the apple. When she got to Ellie Toto saw her and barked, Ellie turned around and smiled.

"Good morning Dorothy." Ellie said as Toto dropped a ball at her feet.

"Good morning Ellie." Dorothy said picking up the ball and throwing it.

They both laughed as they watched Toto chasing after it. Dorothy walked over to the house and grabbed two small wooden crates. She then walked back to Ellie, she then set the crates down and sat down on one. She motioned for Ellie to sit on the other, as she did Toto returned with the ball he set down in front of them and walked up to Ellie.

"Toto, we're out in a field, I'm not surrendering my shoes while we're in a field." Ellie said giggling.

"Toto, No." Dorothy said sternly to her dog and finishing off her apple.

Toto whimpered and shrunk back a bit. Dorothy smiled and picked up her dog, he licked her on the face in return. Dorothy giggled at this and they all sat there to watch the sunrise. They sat there in silence for a few minutes until Auntie Em came up to them.

"Beautiful morning isn't it?" Em said walking over to them.

"Yes it is auntie Em." Dorothy said as the sky became a nice reddish color as the sun rose.

"Dorothy the sheriff will be here in an hour or so, would you or Ellie like something to eat?" she asked.

"No thanks Mrs. Gale, I had an apple from the fruit bowl, but thank you for offering." Ellie said watching the sunrise.

"Same here auntie Em, anyways is Uncle Henry up yet?" Dorothy asked looking at her aunt.

"Of course, Dorothy have you thought about who this Oscar Diggs person might be?" Her aunt asked curiously.

"No auntie Em, I know I've heard the name somewhere before though." Dorothy said getting up, and setting down Toto.

Ellie got up as well and picked up the wooden box she had been sitting on. She then walked it over to the porch and put it down on it. Dorothy did the same with hers and then sat down on the porch as her aunt went back into the house. Ellie sat down next to Dorothy and looked at Toto who followed now carrying the ball in his mouth. He placed it down just out of reach and walked up to Ellie. Ellie sighed and took off one of her dress shoes and handed it to Toto. When he realized at this point that this was the best that he was going to get and took it gently in his mouth. He then walked up the porch steps and began to toy with it.

"I did say that I wouldn't let him have them while we were in the field." Ellie said shrugging.

"true." Dorothy said giggling at her dog.

"I like your shoes by the way Dorothy." Ellie said looking at Dorothy's flats.

"So do I, I think they're cute." Dorothy said dusting them off.

They chatted about various things for a while until they saw the Sheriff's truck pull up their driveway. The sheriff honked the horn and Dorothy's aunt and uncle emerged from the house. Toto walked up to Ellie and dropped her dress shoe in front of her. She smiled and pulled it on. Dorothy picked up her dog and walked to the sheriff's truck.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes sir, can Ellie join us?" Dorothy asked.

"I don't see why not, she can ride with us, or she can follow us with your aunt and uncle." The sheriff said nodding.

Dorothy waved Ellie over, when she got over they got into the sheriff's truck. Dorothy say in the front passenger seat while Ellie and Toto sat on the back seat. When Dorothy's aunt and uncle had gotten into their truck and started up the departed from the farm house.

"So, have you seen the house this guy lives in?" Dorothy asked looking at the sheriff.

"I came here from the house, just so that I had a way of knowing how to get there, his house is a pretty big one, it's like a manor just not as fancy." He said, "It's also got an odd color scheme on the outside." He added.

"Why what color is it?" Ellie asked.

"You'll see when we get there." The sheriff said looking at Ellie through the rearview mirror.

Ellie nodded and took off her dress shoes, handing them off to Toto who was looking incredibly bored at this point. The sheriff looked at Toto through the rearview mirror and chuckled.

"For some reason he likes Ellie's shoes, don't ask me why." Dorothy said turning around and giggling.

They all laughed at this for a few minutes, Dorothy looked out the window as the large open fields of crops passed them by. They drove in silence for about twenty before the sheriff then broke the silence.

"You aren't the only one to be summoned to the residence as an audience you know, when I was leaving his maid led a guy who looked extremely embarrassed to be out in public into the house." The sheriff said.

"Did you see what he looked like?" Dorothy asked.

"not really he was wearing a large trench coat and a wide brimmed hat, what I saw of his face looked nervous, the kind of whole, let me in quick I don't want to be seen by the public sort of look." He said, "but then I drove off and now, oh here it is, see I told you that it had an odd color scheme." He added.

Dorothy looked at the house, half of it was emerald green whilst the other half, was for some strange reason, a light blue. Sure the colors contrasted a bit but still it was odd to see that on such a large house. They pulled up to the front walk and Dorothy got out of the truck. She opened the door to the back seat and picked up Toto. Ellie was pulling her dress shoes back, after a minute she jumped out of the truck. Dorothy's aunt and uncle soon pulled up behind them.

Dorothy walked up the front walk and knocked on the door, it opened and a woman in a green maids outfit opened the door as the man in the over coat pushed by her. Dorothy didn't get a chance to his face, he did however speak.

"Pardon me." He said quietly before running speed walking down the walk.

"Dorothy Gale? and dog Toto?" the maid asked.

"That would be us." Dorothy said.

The maid looked over Dorothy's shoulder, she saw Ellie and her aunt and uncle and gestured for them to come over.

"Your friend and family may wait in the parlor for you to return but Mr. Diggs has requested presence with you alone." The maid said.

Dorothy nodded as the maid let her through the door. She looked and saw a small girl, she was probably about Ellie's age maybe a year or two younger. She was light skinned, she had light blue eyes similar to Dorothy's. Her hair was a brownish color similar to Dorothy's as well, except that the girls hair was tied up in a ponytail, she was wearing a light purple colored dress. She stood up and offered a hand to Dorothy, Dorothy shook it, the girl then quickly pulled back and walked back over to where she was sitting.

"She seems a bit shy." Dorothy said as the maid stopped her from walking any further.

"Shoes in the rack please, Mr. Diggs is rather strict about keeping his house clean in always possible." The maid said gesturing towards a rack.

On the rack there was a pair of black polished dress shoes, a pair of light green children's shoes and several sets of dress shoes. Dorothy nodded and slid out of her flats. The maid picked them up and set them on the rack.

"I will alert Mr. Diggs of your arrival, you are too wait here for now." The maid said.

Dorothy nodded as the maid walked up the stairs. Dorothy walked over to where the girl was sitting. She slowly got up and approached. She smoothed out her dress and set out her hand for Toto to sniff. Toto sniffed it for a few minutes, looked at the girl strangely and sniffed it again as if trying to be sure about something. He then barked and licked the girl's hand causing her to giggle.

"Funny, I've never seen Toto do that before." Dorothy said looking at her dog curiously.

The girl giggled a bit more as another maid came in and escorted the girl into the parlor where Dorothy's aunt, uncle and best friend were waiting. Just then the other maid came down the stairs and coughed.

"Mr. Diggs will see you and your dog now." The maid said.

Dorothy nodded and walked over to the stairs. She followed the maid holding Toto Tightly in her arms. As they walked along Dorothy noticed the odd décor around the house. It had several little statues made of what looked like emerald green stones. Suspended from the walls were several emerald ornament. However they stopped at a door which had a painting of a large hot air balloon next to it. Dorothy smiled at this as the door opened and she was let it into the room.

"Dorothy, Gale?" came a weak familiar sounding voice.

Dorothy looked at the maid who nodded. Dorothy slowly approached the bed.

"Yes, that's me." Dorothy said as Toto sniffed and barked.

"Leave us Jessica, Go get Ace." The man said weakly.

The maid nodded and walked off.

"Mr. Diggs?" Dorothy asked as she stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Approach my dear, you know you have nothing to fear." He said rising his head up.

Dorothy nodded and walked closer to the figure. She looked at the figure, he was an old man, his hair was short and white as snow, she had seen him before but she didn't recognize him. She didn't have to contemplate this much before the girl walked into the room followed by Ellie who was holding her hand tightly.

"Grandfather?" the girl asked.

"Ace, please, I feel I only have moments left of this life." He said.

"Dorothy, who is he?" Ellie asked concerned

The girl walked past Dorothy and kneeled at the head of the bed beginning to cry.

"You do not recognize me, I knew you wouldn't." the man said

"I'm sorry but I do not." Dorothy said walking over to the girl, it was then Dorothy noticed that the light in the room was not coming from the windows but from a few candles.

"I think, you should look around you." The man said.

Dorothy did this and didn't see anything out of the ordinary that is until she looked at the dresser she was standing next to. She gasped as she saw a picture, dimly illuminated by the candle light. It was a picture of the wizard of Oz himself.

"Mr. Wizard?" Dorothy asked gasping and kneeling down at the bedside.

Toto whimpered at the figure on the bed.

"The wizard of Oz himself." He replied weakly.

"Dorothy, you don't mean?" Ellie asked.

Dorothy looked at her and nodded, tears welled up in her eyes.

"How long?" Dorothy asked.

"After I returned from Oz, I found that here in Kansas I called up my son, he was fatally ill, he asked me to take care of my granddaughter if he were to die, when he did this girl came into my care, but now I am dying. No one to call on I didn't want my granddaughter to end up with someone who wouldn't, take care of her." The wizard said turning his head to face Dorothy.

Dorothy was about to speak when a man came into the room. He was wearing a light blue suit, he was about maybe the same age as Dorothy uncle, except this man had blondish colored hair. He was carrying a small stack of paper and a pen.

"Dorothy gale?" he asked looking at her.

Dorothy nodded and turned her attention back to the wizard the man nodded and walked out.

"Dorothy, I ask of you, too please take care of my granddaughter." He said weakly.

"Grandfather, please, don't die." The girl said as a tear rolled down her face.

The man reached over and wiped the tear off his granddaughters face. He then looked at Dorothy.

"Dorothy, in the past I sent you to do something that I was too frightened to do, you risked your life to destroy the witch of the west, and I'm sorry for making you risk your life like that." The wizard said.

"Apology accepted, but what about your granddaughter?" Dorothy asked looking at her.

"Her name is Aislynn, Susan diggs, or just ace for short." He said.

Dorothy looked at the girl and a tear rolled down her face.

"Dorothy Gale, crying for me, though my time is at an end, remember, nothing is forever, just remember, no one, is alone, and that I will always be with you in spirit..." he said as his head dropped, his eyes frozen staring at the ceiling.

A cold wind felt as though it had just blown through the room, the candles were snuffed out simultaneously. Aislynn had turned around and begun to cry. Dorothy looked at the man she had met so long ago now. Having died right in front of her. Dorothy set Toto down on the floor and stood up. The maid then walked in and gasped. She slowly approached the body of Oscar diggs, when she reached it she put her hands over his eyes and drew them shut. She then helped Aislynn up and led her out of the room.

"You should probably go." The maid said to Ellie who had also started to cry.

Ellie followed the maid as she led Aislynn out of the room and probably to the parlor. Dorothy stood there for a minute then picked up Toto. She rubbed her eyes and began to walk out of the room when she turned around and looked at the body.

"Thank you, for everything." Dorothy said before she walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.


	4. Dorothy's Promise

**Disclaimer, I do not own the movie's franchises, etc.**

Dorothy walked down the stairs and in the direction of the parlor. When she entered she found that her uncle was yelling at the man who walked in to the room earlier. Dorothy set down Toto and put a halt to it.

"What's going on here?" Dorothy asked looking at her aunt and uncle curiously.

"This man says that in that man's will you were to receive custody of his granddaughter, but you are far too young." Henry said referring to the little girl.

"Uncle Henry please just sit down and let me explain something." Dorothy said.

Her uncle looked at her, his face drained of color he sat down quickly and listened.

"miss gale, before we begin I would like to inform you that my client Mr. Diggs asked that I personally hand you this letter and request that you not open in till you are back home." He said pulling out a small green envelope and handing it to Dorothy.

Dorothy took it, looked it over for a minute and then pocketed it.

"Now, the man, Mr. Diggs." Dorothy started to say before her aunt cut her off.

"Yes, him who is he?" her aunt asked.

"He was, to put it lightly an old friend." Dorothy said tearing up a bit.

"He was my grandfather." Aislynn said through tears.

"I met him once a very long time ago, or at least it feels like that now." Dorothy said pausing to sit down, "he asked me to take care of his granddaughter, because she was the only family he had left, I was the only one he could turn to that he knew would do it right." She added looking at Ellie who was trying to comfort the girl.

"But you can plainly see that Dorothy is only a child." The sheriff said the man.

"Yes, I do, he explained this to me, I myself found it odd but I wasn't going to go against his wishes." He said wiping his brow.

"But what about expenses?" Henry asked looking at the girl.

"The girl has been left just about everything, including this house, the exception being a hot air balloon and a key to a deposit box at the bank in your town, which are to go to Miss gale here." The man said handing henry an official document.

Her aunt and uncle read through the document carefully, the maid brought in tea and small sandwiches to eat while they waited. The man then handed Dorothy's aunt and uncle the small stack of papers which they read through carefully. Dorothy had gotten up and sat on the floor next to Ellie, who was trying to engage in conversation with Aislynn. To no avail did this work, Aislynn was shy and not really out going, and she was still crying a bit.

After a while her aunt and uncle set down the documents and looked at the man.

"So, the girl is legal custody of our niece?" henry asked.

"That appears to be the case." The man said.

The maid then came up to Dorothy, Ellie, and Aislynn. She kneeled down at so she could face them.

"Hey ace, why don't you show these girls your room? You know while the adults are talking?" she asked.

"Sure Jess." Aislynn said getting up.

Dorothy and Ellie followed Aislynn out of the room and up the stairs Toto following at their heels. When they got to the top they walked in the opposite direction of her grandfather's room. Dorothy looked behind her and sighed. They then arrived at her room. She opened the door and walked in, Dorothy and Ellie looked at each other and then followed. What they saw was rather amazing. Throughout the entire room it was almost like a library, there were books everywhere. Stacks upon stacks piled throughout the room.

"Wow, you could open a small library with this many books." Ellie said.

"Ellie that's just comparing it to the emerald city's library a small library would be about the size of a church." Dorothy said, Toto barked in agreement.

"I like reading, my grandfather would always get me some books whenever he had time." Aislynn said looking at them.

"That's good, have you ever been to a library?" Dorothy asked glad that Aislynn was talking.

"Once, it was in the next town over, after I had read a book or two my grandfather told me to go listen to someone who was telling stories in the children's section, I went over but I found that reading was much for exciting." She replied.

"How long ago was this?" Dorothy asked.

"Maybe a few months ago, I don't remember really." She said looking at Dorothy.

"I think that might have been me that he was telling you to go listen to." Dorothy said looking at her smiling, Toto barked in agreement.

"Could be, I don't know I wasn't paying attention." Aislynn said sighing and sitting down on her bed.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before another maid came and looked at Aislynn.

"The coroner is here, would you two like to your goodbyes?" the woman asked looking at them.

"Has he been moved?" Aislynn asked.

"They were about to, but Jessica stopped them." The woman said

"Please." Aislynn said getting up off the bed and looking at Dorothy, "you want to come? He invited you here." She added.

Dorothy nodded and got up, followed by Toto and Ellie. The walked back to the room. As they entered in they found the coroner from Dorothy's town and the priest. They saw Dorothy and looked at her sadly.

"Mr. Diggs had plans for his funeral in the event of his death, it will be prepared in a few days." The coroner said pulling out a list.

Dorothy walked up to the body along with Aislynn, she placed a hand on her grandfathers and began to cry.

"I'll miss you." She said kissing him on the cheek.

Dorothy walked up to Aislynn and placed a hand her shoulder.

"Thanks, Mr. Diggs, for everything." Dorothy said as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

After a few minutes Jessica came in and placed a hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

"Mr. Diggs attorney wants to speak to you, along with your aunt and uncle." She said leading Dorothy out of the room.

Dorothy looked at Ellie who nodded and walked over to Aislynn. Dorothy followed Jessica down the stairs and back into the parlor. Toto followed closely at her heels. When they got into the parlor they all looked at her.

"Miss gale, as the will is written to direct everything to you, your aunt and uncle can only stand witness." The man said.

"Oh, wow, auntie Em, Uncle Henry?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy it's your choice, you can sign the papers and Aislynn become your responsibility or you can sign her away to a foster home." Her uncle henry said.

Dorothy nodded and the man offered her a pen, she took it and read through the document, signed the bottom the best that she could. She then turned around to see that they were carting off Mr. Diggs to the morgue. When Dorothy had signed all the papers she handed them off to the sheriff to sign as well. He sighed and signed them, handing them back to the attorney who handed her two keys.

"One of those is to Mr. Diggs's deposit box and the other is to be back shed where you'll find his hot air balloon." He said reading off a piece of paper.

"Thank you Mr. um." Dorothy said looking at him.

"Greene." He said finishing the sentence.

Dorothy looked out the window as the large white truck drove off.

"His funeral will be in a few days, Aislynn is now legally in your custody." The sheriff said.

"That is correct officer." Mr. Greene said nodding.

"Dorothy, are you sure you want to do this?" Auntie Em asked.

"I made him a promise auntie Em, I will not break it." Dorothy said looking at her aunt determined.

"According to Mr. Diggs will however, Aislynn is allowed to stay here with the maids until after the funeral if she so chooses." Mr. Greene said packing up his stuff.

"Since she's in my custody do I have to stay here with her?" Dorothy asked looking at her aunt and uncle.

"If you so choose." Came the voice of Jessica from the door.

They all turned around and looked at her, she smiled and waved.

"Well Miss Jessica here is quite right, Dorothy can stay with the girl if she so chooses." Mr. Green said.

"Dorothy, do you want to stay the night here with her? We can come get you in the morning?" auntie Em and uncle henry asked.

"I think I should let Aislynn decide herself." Dorothy said looking out the window.

"I think that's fair enough." Jessica said walking out to retrieve Aislynn and Ellie.

After a few minutes Jessica returned, followed by Aislynn and Ellie. Toto barked at Ellie a few times and ran up to her. Ellie picked him up and walked over to a chair sitting down in it she looked at Dorothy.

"Aislynn, you can either go with the gales tonight, or you can stay here till after the funeral with the maids, but you can also decide if whether or not Dorothy, as your legal guardian stays with you during that time if you decide to stay." Mr. Greene said.

Aislynn looked at Dorothy, then at her maid, she then looked at the people in the room.

"Dorothy, come back tomorrow." Aislynn said weakly looking at her.

"Okay, Aislynn." Dorothy said.

"Thank you." She said nodding.

"Well then that's settled, shall we leave?" The sheriff asked.

Aislynn nodded at the sheriff. Jessica came back into the room carrying Dorothy's flats, she walked over and handed them to Dorothy. She thanked her and slid them on. They all got up and began to walk out as they were leaving Jessica stopped Dorothy.

"Miss Gale, I must warn you, ace isn't a very social person, she doesn't tend to get along with others." Jessica said frowning.

Dorothy nodded and walked out of the house. She looked back at it and waved at Aislynn is was looking at her through the window. Dorothy sighed knowing this could lead to some problems. She felt inside her pockets and found the little green envelope she was going to need to read it when she got to the house. She sighed and got into the sheriff's truck. Ellie and Toto got in the back, Ellie pulled off her dress shoes and surrendered them to Toto. The three of them laughed at this for a minute before they drove off.


	5. Trouble Arises

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies franchises, etc.**

After they got back to the farm house Dorothy went to her room and shut the door. Ellie had gone to the mirror to contact Glinda. Dorothy sat on her bed and took out the envelope, opening it she took out the note and read it to herself.

"Dear Dorothy, if you are reading this it means I am long since gone, or am going to be, I think it is safe to say that you followed my orders and are reading this in the privacy your home, I think it's important to tell you what is in my deposit box that I left you the key to." She said to herself turning it over, "in the box you will find a book, an emerald, and another key that goes to a room in the emerald city, do with those what you may, yours truly, Oscar Diggs." She finished tearing up.

It wasn't much to go by but she would have to drop by the bank at some point with her aunt and uncle. Right now she had to head to the library. She took the keys and the envelope and placed them in a drawer. She then slid into her flats and walked out of the room. She met Ellie in the living room, Glinda's image was fading from the mirror, and she had a sad look on her face. Ellie then turned around and smiled at Dorothy.

"So, you told her the news?" Dorothy asked looking at Ellie.

"Yep, she feels sorry for Aislynn, but it can't be helped." Ellie said.

"Well come on, let's go to the library, you can see what I do." Dorothy said as Toto walked up to them and barked.

"That sounds like fun, well let's go." Ellie said smiling.

Dorothy nodded and they walked out of the house. As they walked down the drive way they waved at Dorothy's aunt and uncle, who were waiting for Mr. Alistair to return to fix the tractor. As they walked they noticed that there were dark clouds beginning to roll in.

"Looks like it may rain later." Dorothy said.

"Seems like it." Ellie said looking up.

They continued to walk in silence with Toto following at their heels. When they got to the town Dorothy led her directly to the library. Where they were stopped by some guy she had never seen before.

"Sorry no dogs allowed miss…" He started to say before a woman came up to him and cut him off.

"Miss Gale is an exception to our rule, she is that story teller they told you about." The woman said.

"Thanks Mrs. T, but I think I could have explained myself." Dorothy said giggling.

"Sure thing Dorothy, but he's new." Mrs. T said.

"I understand, anyways can I go in?" Dorothy asked looking at the guy.

"Yes mam, sorry, I didn't realize you would be a child." He said letting them walk in.

As they walked in Dorothy walked to the children's section and sat down on a small stool.

"So this is where you quote unquote work?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, pretty much, when one child notices me here they all sort of follow, I wait for a minutes and then continue my story from where I left off." Dorothy said.

"What part did you leave off at?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I was telling them about how we met, I can only really keep them amused for an hour or two." Dorothy said.

"How sweet, but it took you over a year to tell your first and second adventures in Oz?" Ellie asked concerned.

"They ask a lot of questions." Dorothy said smiling as Toto walked off.

After a while a few kids ran over and sat down in front of Dorothy. Ellie smiled as Toto walked back followed by Donna and her Little sister.

"Hello Donna, and hello Kelly." Dorothy said looking at Donna's little sister.

"Hello Dorothy." Donna said, "Ellie didn't think I'd see you again." She added holding out her hand for Ellie to shake.

Ellie shook Donna's hand, Kelly then walked to Dorothy and tugged on her dress.

"Yes Kelly?" Dorothy asked.

"Is that the Ellie from your story?" Kelly asked.

Dorothy nodded and this made Kelly smile she then joined the rest of the kids. Dorothy began to tell them about her travels with Ellie in the woods of the Land of Oz, it brought back memories to Ellie, she remembered the smell of the forest, and she thought she should do it again at some point. After she got to the part where wiser picked them up some kids began to lose interest, so she tried to excite things with her first night in the emerald city, and her first night mare of the jester. That's when Ellie saw someone in a large overcoat and wide brimmed hat covering his eyes for the most part. She could see his mouth which was set in a worried smile. She looked at Dorothy, and smiled that's when Dorothy attempted to imitate the jester's wicked laugh.

"If you're going to do and imitation of me DO IT RIGHT!" a voice said booming throughout the library.

Thunder then shook the library as it started pouring outside. The jester's cackle was then heard throughout the library. Kids screamed Dorothy had gone ghostly pale, Ellie found herself wishing she had her sword. She ran over to Dorothy who collapsed in fear. Toto barked a few times as Dorothy's aunt and uncle ran in followed by Jessica.

"Dorothy! Ellie, what happened we heard the cackle and came running." Aunt Em asked.

"She sort of fainted a minute ago, Jessica what are you doing here?" Ellie asked.

"I'm here running an errand for Ace." Jessica said.

"So she's not here?" Ellie asked.

"No." Jessica replied

"Good, I don't want that child to get scared." Ellie said with a sigh of relief.

"Same here." She replied looking at the man in the overcoat.

He nodded and walked to Dorothy, picking her up. Toto barked a few times in distress.

"Hey, put her down!" Ellie said to the man.

"Ellie, don't worry." Came the voice of Mr. Alistair.

"Mr. Alistair? Why do you need to be so reclusive?" Ellie asked.

"Because no one wants to be associated with the Diggs family, I'm Aislynn's teacher during the summer." He said taking off the wide brimmed hat.

Donna ran up to her uncle and hugged him, she then placed a hand on Dorothy's forehead.

"She's fine, I think" Donna said.

Ellie ran out of the room to look for a mirror. After a while she realized she wasn't going to find one, she sighed and went back to and rejoined them.

"Do any of you guys have a mirror?" Ellie asked.

Auntie Em, Donna and Jessica rummaged through their pockets for a minute before Jessica produced a make-up compact, she handed it to ellie who produced a bottle from her own pockets. She opened the compact and dripped some of the contents on the reflective part. It rippled for a minute and then the image of the emerald city appeared. Glinda was already waiting there.

"Ellie! Thank Oz you're alright, where's Dorothy?" Glinda asked concerned.

Ellie turned the mirror in the direction of Mr. Alistair, Glinda sighed. Ellie didn't like that look that Glinda was getting, she knew that look, and she knew it well.

"We heard the jester sis." Ellie said.

"I know, we heard him as well." Glinda said, "Ellie, I have a new assignment for you" she added.

"Yes mam?" Ellie said.

"Go to the Diggs residence and guard Aislynn, The jester knows about her by now." Glinda said.

Ellie saluted, but then she looked at Dorothy, she sighed as the image faded from the mirror.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale I have a mission, take me back to the farm." Ellie said.

Dorothy groaned and her eyes opened. Toto barked out of happiness, Dorothy turned to face Ellie. Just then the voice of Mrs. T came over the library's PA.

"Would a Miss Jessica Senzo please report to the checkout desk, I repeat, could a Miss Jessica Senzo please report to the Checkout desk." She said as the PA crackled a bit.

Mr. Alistair set Dorothy down on her feet, she gathered her balance back, and they all walked up to the main check out desk. A loud crash of thunder shook the library a bit. When they got to the front desk they were surprised to see another maid, she looked distressed, and Jessica gasped and nearly fainted.

"Jenny, where's Aislynn, you were supposed to be at the house watching her while I was getting some books." Jessica said.

"She won't come out of her room, she's not afraid of the thunder I know that but she won't come out of her room, she keeps saying, He's coming, over and over." Jenny said.

Dorothy looked worried at this.

"Take me back to her, did Mr. Diggs ever tell her about some guy named the Jester?" Dorothy asked.

"No, why?" Jenny asked.

"No reason." Dorothy replied bending over and picking up Toto.

Jenny looked at her for a minute, Ellie walked up to Dorothy and whispered her new mission in her ear. Dorothy nodded.

"What is she saying?" Jessica asked.

"Have you two ever heard of a place called Oz?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Mr. Diggs used it as subject for his stories why?" Jenny asked.

"Because it's real, your friend here, though I'm not sure she wants to believe it, just saw me contact my sister through her little compact." Ellie said.

Dorothy looked at Ellie in surprise but she wasn't going to question it at this point. Ellie smiled and produced a small bottle from her pocket, she slipped it carefully into Dorothy's dress pocket, watching her carefully hoping she wouldn't notice. She didn't, Ellie smiled and looked at Mr. and Mrs. Gale.

"Ellie, we'll take you back to farm house, someone needs to keep Aislynn safe, and according to your sister it's your new mission." Henry said as Em handed him an umbrella.

"I don't deny my sister, Dorothy, if you can, have either of these two get you the house." Ellie said as she and henry were walking out.

Dorothy's aunt nodded and followed them leaving Dorothy and Toto alone with the two maids.

"So, looks like this can't wait till tomorrow." Dorothy said.

"Seems not miss gale." Jenny said.

Dorothy looked at them and sighed, she set Toto down on the library counter.

"Please, just call me Dorothy, not Miss Dorothy not Miss gale, or Miss Dorothy gale, just Dorothy, anyone will tell you that I don't like formalities, I let you call me that in from of Mr. Diggs because it wasn't my house, but please, just call me Dorothy." she said as Toto barked.

"Yes Dorothy." jenny said.

Mrs. T then walked up to Dorothy.

"Dorothy, are you alright? I heard from Mr. Alistair that you fainted." Mrs. T asked in concern.

"I did, do you have an umbrella lying around?" Dorothy asked looking at her.

"Leaving so soon?" Mrs. T asked going under the desk and producing a large metal tipped umbrella.

"I have something important to do, I'll see you tomorrow." Dorothy said taking the umbrella from Mrs. T and picking up Toto.

"Right dear, good luck." She replied.

Dorothy walked out followed by the two maids, when she got out of the library she opened the umbrella and held it over her. Setting Toto down, she followed Jessica to a canary yellow car. She and Jessica both got in, Jenny ran to her own car which was emerald green. Toto jumped up on Dorothy's lap and shook himself off as they drove off. Jessica gestured to the glove compartment which Dorothy opened. Inside she found a bottle of cleaning spray and several wash cloths. Dorothy took one and wiped up all the water that Toto got everywhere. The rain began to pour down harder, they were passed by, what Dorothy recognized as the Sheriff's truck, and he was heading in the same direction they were which worried Dorothy.

"That's the sheriff's truck, do you think he's heading to the house?" Dorothy asked.

"I hope not, it will just make things more complicated." Jessica said.

After about twenty minutes or so they arrived at the house, the Sheriff was there, which made Dorothy sigh in frustration. They all got out of the car and ran to the house. When they got in Dorothy handed the umbrella to Jessica, she then slid out of her flats and ran up the stairs. When she got to Aislynn's room she found her sitting in the corner crying, the sheriff walked in behind her.

"Dorothy? wait why am I surprised to see you here?" the sheriff asked.

Dorothy didn't answer, she slowly walked into the room and approached Aislynn. She didn't go far before Aislynn turned around and threw a book at her. Dorothy ducked as did the sheriff, the book hit the floor of the hallway with a large echoing thud.

"Aislynn? Are you okay?" Dorothy asked as she reached her.

"He's coming, he's coming." She choked out.

"Who's coming?" the sheriff asked concerned.

"The man, the man with the wicked laugh, I heard it." Aislynn said.

Dorothy knew who Aislynn was talking about, she kneeled down and hugged her, and she then felt something in her pocket that she hadn't noticed before. But she shrugged it off. Dorothy had to keep Aislynn safe until Ellie got there.

"Aislynn, have you seen this man before?" Dorothy asked.

Aislynn nodded and pointed to a book that was on her bed, Dorothy looked at it. It looked like a small scrapbook. Dorothy got up and walked over to it. On the cover in large letters cut out of paper it said, _'my drawings.' _Dorothy smiled and opened it. As she flipped through the pages she saw many beautiful pictures, some of the emerald city, others of her grandfather, Dorothy began to flip through the quickly, when she got to the last page she nearly fainted.

"The jester." Dorothy whispered to herself.

Aislynn got up and walked over to Dorothy, still crying.

"I see him in my nightmares, he's always laughing." Aislynn said crying.

"When did these nightmares start?" Dorothy asked wiping some tears from Aislynn's face.

"A few days ago, I drew him and I don't know why." Aislynn said.

Dorothy examined the picture for a minute. She then looked at the sheriff and gestured for him to go. He nodded and walked away. Toto jumped up on the bed, when he saw the drawing he growled. She was about to say something before they heard glass shatter and Jessica scream. Aislynn and Dorothy both ran out of the room. At the bottom of the steps they saw the sheriff with his revolver drawn, poised to shoot. Dorothy ran down the stairs, the front door flew open and Ellie ran in drawing out her sword and carrying the scepter.

She tossed the scepter to Dorothy who caught it. Dorothy looked in the direction of the parlor which was shut. Dorothy sighed, she waved to Aislynn to come down. She looked at her a little reluctantly, but sighed and walked down the stairs followed by Toto. Just then the doors to the parlor burst open revealing jester. Aislynn screamed and fainted. The sheriff caught her and dragged her out of the room.

"I knew you'd come here." The Jester said pulling a piece of paper from his sleeve.

"Leave these people alone." Ellie said.

"Can it blondie, your sister isn't here to keep you safe this time." The jester said taking out the wand.

"What are you doing here?" Dorothy asked tightening her grasp around the scepter.

She wasn't going to question how it got here, she wasn't worried at this point.

"I'm trying to get to you, after our last battle was a complete failure, I thought I'd try a different approach, I'm going to get you where it hurts the most, At home." The jester said laughing.

He then vanished in a puff of smoke, the sheriff ran back into the room and into the parlor. He walked over to Jessica and felt for her pulse, he sighed in relief.

"She's unconscious, but Dorothy, was that?" the sheriff asked worriedly.

"Yes." Dorothy said as Toto whimpered.

The rain then stopped but the sky remained dark and foreboding. Dorothy looked at Ellie and nodded. Ellie walked into the room that the sheriff had dragged Aislynn into. Dorothy then walked over to the rack and grabbed her flats from it. She slid into them, Toto barked at her in curiosity.

"Toto, I want you to stay here with Ellie keep them protected." Dorothy said looking at her dog.

Toto got into a position of attention, he barked sternly. Dorothy smiled and walked over to the sheriff.

"Dorothy, I'll drive you home, but first help me get Miss Jessica to a bed." The sheriff said as Jenny walked in with some tea.

She gasped, set it down and ran over, she helped the sheriff lift Jessica onto the couch.

"You two should go, I'll take care of her." Jenny said.

"Okay, Jenny, Ellie is in the other room with Aislynn, if anything happens or anyone mysterious shows up call the sheriff and tell him to get me." Dorothy said.

Jenny nodded as the sheriff took out a pad of paper and a pencil, he wrote something down and tore the paper off. He left on the table and nodded. Dorothy got up and walked back to the door, grabbing the umbrella she came with. She wondered where the sound of shattering glass came from the window in the parlor didn't look broken, but she knew appearances weren't anything to go by anymore. She sighed as she got into the sheriffs truck and they drove back to her town, scepter and umbrella in hand.


	6. Promises

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

When Dorothy got back to farm house, she was surprised to find Alison and Alyssa standing on the porch as if waiting there. She got out of the truck and ran to them. The sheriff got out as well and approached them slowly, Alyssa giggled and looked at the sheriff.

"If you're a friend of Dorothy you have nothing to fear." Alyssa said smiling.

"Alyssa please, that's the sheriff he doesn't take well to being threatened." Dorothy warned her.

"Oh, really, I'm sorry if I frightened you sir." Alyssa said.

The sheriff backed away and went into his truck driving off as quickly as possible. Dorothy smiled and looked at the girls.

"What are you two doing here?" Dorothy asked.

"Glinda will explain when we arrive." Alison said taking Dorothy's arm

Dorothy was about to ask what she meant when she felt herself lurch forward. She began to feel sick, her vision went blurry, she grasped onto the scepter which began to glow brightly. She then felt herself hit the ground, she fell over, directly into Glinda's arms. She panted heavily and coughed, she looked as if she was about to vomit. A guard ran up to her carrying a metal bucket. Dorothy pushed it away.

"Glinda? I shouldn't be here, the jester is somewhere in Kansas." Dorothy said as she got her breath back.

"Dorothy, don't worry, just listen." Alison said.

"Dorothy, we don't have much time, the jester is affecting both your world and Oz, we don't know how though, He appeared to us here and told us his new game, you have to be read, and most importantly you need to protect the wizard's granddaughter." Glinda said.

"But Glinda, How?" Dorothy asked.

"Find a way, we have to protect Oz, you have to protect your world." Glinda said.

Dorothy began to feel dizzy, her vision went blurry and she felt herself lurching forward again. She closed her eyes this time hoping it would help. It didn't. When she finally stopped she found herself standing on her porch, her aunt and uncle standing there looking up at the sky.

"Dorothy!" they both said in unison.

She felt herself feeling faint, her vision began to blur, and she collapsed and blacked out.

Dorothy awoke a few hours later to find herself not at her farmhouse but in a room she had never seen before. She looked around, the room was plain, grey walls, one solitary window with a dresser next to it. The scepter was leaning up against the dresser. It was then that she noticed that she was in a nightgown, her dress and shirt were sitting, nicely folded on the dresser. She got out of the bed and found that her flats were on the floor next to the bed. She ignored them and walked over to the window, looking out at it she found that she wasn't anywhere that she recognized, outside the window as a field, just a field. This worried Dorothy a bit, where was she? She then walked to the dresser and went to pick up her dress, she noticed a piece of paper sitting on top of it. She picked it up and read it aloud.

"Turn around?" Dorothy read questioning it.

She turned around and was confronted with a sight that nearly made her faint again. It was the figure of the jester. She gasped and looked at it, the figure then vanished as did the paper. Dorothy ran over to the door and tried to open it. The door was locked. She rattled the knob a few times but it didn't open. She sighed and walked back to the dresser, she picked up her clothes and changed into them. Setting the night gown neatly on the dresser, she looked at it and realized it wasn't even hers, or at least she didn't recognize it. As she walked over to the bed and slid on her flats she looked at the scepter. She then walked over to it and picked it up. It glowed for a bit. She then heard the lock click and the door open, turning around she saw Jenny, and she sighed in relief.

"Oh, good, you've finally come to, I'll go get your aunt and uncle." Jenny said turning around and walking out.

Dorothy stood there in shock for a minute, why was she taken to the Diggs residence instead her own bed? Did something happen at home? She was worried now she didn't know what to do. Her aunt and uncle then ran into the room, then embraced her tightly.

"How long was I out for?" Dorothy asked.

"About three or four hours, it was suggested we bring you here instead of keeping you at the farm house." Her aunt said.

"Who suggested that?" Dorothy asked.

"Glinda, she told us that you needed to protect the girl." Her uncle replied.

Dorothy nodded and looked at the night gown.

"Oh, that? Jessica loaned us that for you." Her aunt said.

"I should thank her at some point." Dorothy said walking out of the room.

Dorothy slid off the flats again as she exited the room, she picked them up and carried them with her as she walked towards the stairs. She walked past the room that once belonged to Mr. Diggs, she sighed as she looked at it. When she got to the stairs she walked past them and into Aislynn's room. She found that Ellie was sitting next to Aislynn on the bed. Dorothy walked in and over to them, she leaned the scepter carefully against the bed, Toto emerged from under it and barked. Dorothy smiled and sat next to Aislynn.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked in a worried tone.

"Yes?" Dorothy asked as Toto jumped into her lap.

"Are you really going to protect me?" She asked looking at her with tears in her eyes.

"I promise, won't let anyone hurt you." Dorothy said placing a hand on Aislynn's shoulder.

"I'm tired of hearing promises, my Grandfather promised he would keep me safe, but he can't do that anymore." Aislynn said.

"Aislynn, I swear that I will protect you with my last breath." Dorothy said.

"I will as well." Ellie said.

Aislynn laid her head down on Dorothy's lap and cried a bit.

"People are always saying that, my mother, my father, and my grandfather, I don't want you guys to get hurt." She said closing her eyes.

Dorothy ran a hand through Aislynn's hair, she sighed.

"Aislynn, as Ellie will tell you I will not walk out on people I care about." Dorothy said.

Aislynn sniffed a bit, she then opened her eyes and looked at Ellie. Ellie smiled and nodded, Aislynn looked up at Dorothy with a weak smile.

"Promise?" Aislynn asked.

"I promise." She replied smiling.

Aislynn sat up and hugged Dorothy tightly. Dorothy returned the embrace, she would protect this girl even if it killed her. She didn't have much time to think about this before Jessica came in.

"Dorothy, you're aunt and uncle wanted to know if you were ready to return to the farm." Jessica said looking at them.

Dorothy thought about this for a moment, if she left then she'd be putting Aislynn in danger, but staying knowing full well the jester was after her and not Aislynn was even worse when she thought about it. She looked at the girl, who looked back at her and nodded. Dorothy smiled and got up, she slid into her flats and looked at Jessica.

"Tell my aunt and uncle that I will be down in a minute." Dorothy said.

"Will do." Jessica said.

"Oh and Jessica." Dorothy called.

"Yes?" she said popping her head back in.

"Thanks for loaning me the nightdress." Dorothy said smiling.

Jessica smiled and walked off, Dorothy turned and looked at Ellie.

"Ellie, you stay here and watch Aislynn for me till tomorrow." Dorothy said looking at her.

Ellie smiled and saluted, giggling.

"Dorothy, I have my orders." Ellie said.

"I know, but you have to keep her safe while I'm away, the jester is after me not you guys, he knew I would be here, he had a copy of the will somehow." Dorothy said, "Aislynn, if anything happens trust Ellie, she tends to know what's best." She added.

"Yes mam." Aislynn said.

Dorothy nodded and picked up Toto, she then walked over and picked up the scepter. Walking out of the room she looked out the window that was in front of her she saw the shed that the wizard was keeping his balloon in, she knew she'd have to use it at some point. She then walked to the stairs and found her aunt and uncle waiting at the bottom of the stairs with Jessica. When Dorothy got to the bottom of the steps she turned to Jessica.

"If anything happens, if the jester should come here, take Aislynn to the town I live in and ask for instructions to the farm house." Dorothy said looking at her sternly.

"Seems like a good plan." Jessica said.

Dorothy nodded and walked to the door as she exited she saw that the sky had gone dark again. She called for her aunt and uncle to hurry and get her home. They ran out and all got in the truck. As they were driving along Dorothy continued to watch the skies, for fear that the jester may just burst out of them. She sighed when they were finally back in her town. Soon they were back at the farm house Dorothy immediately ran to her room, setting the scepter down by the dresser she sat down on her bed.

Looking out at the dark sky she knew she had to go and find the jester. She didn't know how, but come what may she had to find him. She needed to stop him from doing too much harm

**As a quick A.N. for those of you who review, with the mixed reviews I am getting about whether or not I should do a Pairing of ScarecrowXAislynn, or scarecrowXReader but that's pretty tied at the moment so I don't know, someone is going to be disappointed in the end though and I don't want to do that**. **But that's besides the point, anyways I hope you like the chapter.**


	7. First night

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, etc.**

Dorothy waited till night fall before left her room again, she pulled on her boots, she knew her flats would get ruined if she wore them on this journey, she then picked up the scepter and opened the window. Climbing out of it she sighed. Was she making the right choice? She didn't know, what she did know was that if she didn't try to make a deal with the jester she would be putting not just her friends and family at risk but both her world and the land of Oz at risk. As she walked away from the farm house she sighed as she got to the end of the walk way a truck pulled up to her. As it slowed down the window rolled down and Dorothy saw the sheriff in the light that the scepter was generating.

"You're out pretty late Dorothy." the sheriff said.

"I know, but there's something I have to do." Dorothy said.

"I know that's why I came here, I got a call from one of the maids at the Diggs residence Aislynn wants you to stay the night." The sheriff said.

"what about Ellie?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"the maid said that Ellie is fine, but for some reason Aislynn wants you." The sheriff said

"Dorothy!" came the voice of her aunt Toto barking in her wake.

When her aunt got up to her she was about to scold her when she saw the sheriff.

"Oh, good evening officer." Auntie Em said.

"Evening Mrs. Gale, I was just telling Dorothy that she was being summoned by Aislynn." The sheriff said.

"Oh, that's okay then, Dorothy why did you try to run away though?" Her aunt asked.

"I want to go find the jester before he causes any damage that's irreversible." Dorothy said looking at her aunt.

"Dorothy you could get yourself killed." Em said.

"I know auntie Em but it's that or wait, but now I should probably go and see Aislynn." Dorothy said bending over and picking Toto.

"That's fine dear, just tell us if you're going somewhere." Her aunt said kissing her on the forehead.

Dorothy smiled and walked around the other side of the truck. Opening the door she put Toto and the scepter in the back seat. After shutting the door she opened the passenger door and got into the seat. As she shut the door the sheriff began to drive off, the truck was illuminated by the glow of the scepter. It was then she realized that the orb wasn't a blue one that the jester had replaced it with but another emerald green one. She didn't think about this much before, she wasn't going to question it now either. She looked at the sheriff who smiled, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a paper bag full of toffee. He took one and then offered the bag to Dorothy. She took one and ate it.

"thanks." She said smiling.

"No problem, these are my secret horde, my wife doesn't really approve of me eating sweets." He replied chuckling.

Dorothy giggled at this, but didn't say any more about it for fear of offending him. Toto barked a few times looking out window. Dorothy looked out the window and was met with the sight of Fireflies of multiple colors.

"Wow, that's really neat." The sheriff said looking at them.

Dorothy thought it was pretty as well but then she realized she had seen this before, she looked at the sheriff worriedly, he seemed to be getting distracted by the fireflies. She snapped her fingers a few times in front of his face to gain his attention.

"Drive faster, it's a trap, this is the jester's work." Dorothy said.

The sheriff nodded and sped up the truck. Dorothy looked through the rearview mirror at the fire flies, they were being pursued. Dorothy got up from the seat and reached behind her. Toto nudged the scepter so she could reach it.

"Dorothy? What are you doing?" the sheriff asked looking at her curiously.

Dorothy didn't say anything she grabbed the scepter and opened the window.

"Stop the truck." Dorothy said sternly

The sheriff nodded and stopped the truck. Dorothy leaned out the window and watched the fireflies approach, when they were close enough Dorothy opened the truck door and jumped out. She raised the scepter and brought it down in a quick motion. The fireflies glowed a bit and then vanished with tiny pops. Dorothy then got back in the truck and shut the door. The sheriff started driving again. They traveled in silence until they got to the house. Dorothy got out of the truck and opened the back door, picking up Toto. She thanked the sheriff, he tipped his hat and drove off. Dorothy walked up to the house and the door opened and Jenny greeted her. Dorothy walked in, as she did Jenny pulled up a chair for her. Dorothy sat down setting the scepter and Toto she pulled off her boots and handed them to Jenny. She then got up and picked up the scepter and walked to the stairs with Toto following at her heels.

"Dorothy?" came Jenny's voice.

"Yes?" Dorothy asked turning around.

"Thank you for coming." She replied.

Dorothy smiled and walked up the stairs. When she got to Aislynn's room she found Aislynn sitting at a desk reading a book. Ellie was behind her reading over her shoulder, both of them were in white night gowns. Dorothy coughed a few times and they turned around. Ellie smiled and ran over to Dorothy, Aislynn did the same thing.

"Thanks for coming back Dorothy." Aislynn said hugging her.

Dorothy smiled and returned the embrace. Toto barked and Ellie walked over and picked him up. Toto in turn barked again and licked her on the cheek. They all giggled at this for a minute before Dorothy tried to engage in a proper conversation.

"So, why did you want me to come back?" Dorothy asked looking at her.

"It's my first night without my grandfather in over a year, I wanted to have someone in the house that I feel safe with." Aislynn said not breaking from the embrace.

"And you don't feel comfortable with just Ellie?" Dorothy asked.

"Correct." She replied.

"I think it's a fair enough argument Dorothy." Ellie said setting Toto down on the bed.

Dorothy smiled and ran a hand through Aislynn's hair. Ellie smiled and walked over to Dorothy, placing a hand on her shoulder she nodded and walked out. Aislynn broke from the embrace and walked over to her bed, climbing into it she gestured for Dorothy to come over. Dorothy nodded and walked over setting down the scepter next to the bed. She then knelt down next to the bed as Aislynn lie down and pulled the blanket over her. She smiled and got up, she sat down on the bed and hugged her.

"You know, your grandfather was a really great man." Dorothy said, "greater than you could ever imagine." She added.

Aislynn smiled, but she then got a confused look on her face.

"That reminds me, how did you meet my grandfather?" she asked curiously.

"It's a long story, remind me to tell you about it at some point, because it would take more than one night to tell you the entire story." Dorothy said smiling.

"Okay then, I can't wait to hear the story, or you could write it down in a book for me to read, that would be much more fun." She replied giggling.

Dorothy giggled and got up, grabbing the scepter she walked out of the room, waving the scepter a bit the light in the room dimmed. Dorothy looked behind her one last time before shutting the door, leaving it open just a crack. She waited there until she was sure that Aislynn was asleep, when she was completely positive of this she looked in to the room. She smiled and walked down stairs and into the parlor. When she entered she found Ellie laughing about something with Jessica and Jenny. She walked in and sat down silently.

"So, is she asleep?" Ellie asked.

"I think so, I waited for a while, either that or she waited for me to be gone before she snuck out of bed to read a book." Dorothy set setting down the scepter and giggled a bit.

"That does happen some times." Jessica said.

They all laughed at this for a few minutes before Jessica got up and walked over to Dorothy.

"Would you like to sleep in the room that you were in earlier?" Jessica asked her.

"It depends, whose room is it?" Dorothy asked.

"It's mine but you're free to use it if you'd like." She replied.

"Oh, no, I couldn't I would feel bad about it." Dorothy said.

"But I insist." Jessica said.

Dorothy shook head, Jessica nodded, she then walked out of the room. they all heard her walk up the steps, when her footsteps faded jenny spoke up.

"you really shouldn't upset Jessica, she's easily upset and distressed, you saw how she reacted when she saw me at the library." Jenny said sighing.

"Should I go apologize?" Dorothy asked.

"Knowing her, I'd wait till morning." Jenny said.

Dorothy nodded as jenny got up and walked out of the parlor, she returned a few minutes later carrying some blankets. She handed one to Dorothy and one to Ellie. They thanked her and she walked out. Ellie got up and walked to an armchair and sat in it. Dorothy set herself up on the couch. Ellie reached out and switched off the light. Toto jumped up on Dorothy's legs and curled up into a ball. It wasn't long before either of them were asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>at this point i would like to point out that most of my chapters only go out when the chapter that is to come after them is done or almost finished, however recent chapters that i have been uploading have been sitting in my PC since i finished Return of an old enemy. also at this point i have my back to the wall. i obviously cant do both a ScarecrowXAislynn and a scarecrowXreader slash in the same fic without making a side story. there is however the one member that has asked for a DorothyxScarecrow fic, so i want your guys opinion, do you think that those are over done?<strong>


	8. Nightmares return, and the next morning

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchise, etc.**

Dorothy found herself in the middle of a night mare. One she thought she'd never have again. She was unable to move, the jester appeared in front of her, cackling in his usual way. He took out the wand and flicked it, appearing in front of her, were all her friends and family being tortured in various ways, nothing to harmful or fatal but stuff that would be torture to them nonetheless. Dorothy found herself unable to scream. She then felt a warm embrace wrap around her. She woke up drenched in sweat, rushing into the embraces of Aislynn and Ellie. Jessica ran into the room carrying an ice pack.

"What happened?" Jessica asked.

"A nightmare, and I think I know which one." Ellie said letting go of Dorothy, Aislynn looked at Ellie with a look of concern.

"You mean this has happened before?" she asked.

"Several times to be honest." Ellie said going into Dorothy's pockets and taking out the bottle she had placed in there the day before.

Dorothy looked out the window, it was sunrise now, which was good in terms of timing but she still probably woke everyone up with her nightmare. Jenny came in and saw Dorothy was drenched in sweat and gasped.

"Jessica go draw a cool bath for Dorothy, and find her something to wear, we should get her into something dry." Jenny said.

"Sure thing." Jessica said running out.

"Dorothy, what did you see?" Ellie asked.

"You know what I saw." Dorothy said

"Jenny, does the bathroom have a mirror in it?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, but why?" she asked curiously.

"That's between Dorothy and me." Ellie said

"Fair enough Miss Ellie." Jenny said.

"What about me?" Aislynn said.

Dorothy looked at Ellie as Toto barked at her. She nodded and broke the embrace with Aislynn.

"Aislynn, because we won't be able to keep this from you forever, you can see while we're doing this." Ellie said.

Aislynn nodded and Jessica came back in. they helped Dorothy off the couch and led her to the bathroom. Ellie asked if they could be left alone for a few minutes. Jessica nodded, looking at Aislynn oddly. Ellie shut the door as she walked away, she then took the small bottle and splashed its contents onto the mirror. Aislynn looked at the mirror curiously as the liquid dripped down the mirror then vanished. Ellie looked at her and smiled, looking back at the mirror she heard Aislynn gasp as it began to ripple like a pond when you throw a stone in it. She was then surprised to see it fade way into the chambers of the emerald city. Glinda ran into the scene. When she saw Dorothy she sighed.

"Do I need to ask?" Glinda asked sighing.

"Not really Glinda." Ellie said, causing Aislynn to gasp again.

Glinda looked closer to the mirror and looked at Aislynn.

"Who's that little flower over there?" Glinda asked.

"Oh, this is Aislynn, Glinda she's the wizard's granddaughter." Ellie said gesturing for Aislynn to come closer.

She reluctantly walked forward, she waved and smiled weakly.

"Hello Aislynn, it's a pleasure to meet you at last." Glinda said sighing, "Dorothy, don't worry, we are working hard to try and locate the jester, but it seems somehow power is being drained from Oz." she added worriedly.

The image began to ripple Ellie sighed as Glinda's image faded from the mirror and the scene was returned to normal. Aislynn was a bit shocked, but having seen the jester, she wasn't really surprised by anything at this point. Ellie then got up and led Aislynn out of the bathroom so that Dorothy could bathe in peace.

They went back to the parlor where Jenny and Jessica were amused to see the scepter floating in midair, glowing. Ellie sighed and plucked it from the air. Toto barked at her for taking away his form of amusement. The scepter went dark as Ellie closed her fingers around it, she knew its power would only truly answer to Dorothy at this point.

"Jessica, you should probably find something for Dorothy to wear for when she gets out of the bath." Jenny said.

"What can I have her wear though? I don't even know what her dress size is, the fact that my old nightgown fit her was a bit of a miracle." Jessica said

Everybody looked at Ellie, even Toto. It took Ellie a minute to realize everyone's eyes were on her.

"What? I don't know her dress size." Ellie said surprised.

"Well what size was the nightgown?" Aislynn asked looking at her maid.

"I don't really know, what I do know is that it's the only one I have of that size." Jessica said.

"You only wore it once didn't you?" jenny asked.

"yep." Was the reply.

"Terrific." Ellie said sarcastically.

A few minutes later Dorothy came in wrapped tightly in a towel she was drying her hair off with another towel. Carrying her dress in one hand she handed it to Jenny as she got up. Dorothy then grabbed the scepter from Ellie, it glowed a bit and returned to its normal state.

"Feeling better?" Jenny asked looking at her.

"Much." Dorothy said

Jessica then got up and walked out the room again, she walked up the stairs and returned a few moments later carrying the nightgown. She handed it to Dorothy who walked out and changed into it, a few minutes she walked back in drying her hair some more. Toto barked a few times and Dorothy walked over and picked him up in her free arm. He then licked her face making them laugh.

"So what's for breakfast?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Bran flakes, and pancakes." Jenny said thinking about it and getting up.

"Can I just have a thing of bran flakes?" Ellie asked, everyone stared at her/

"Plain bran flakes?" Jessica asked surprised.

"Yes please if you can." Ellie said.

No one was going to question this further, Jessica got up and said she was going to go wash Dorothy's dress. Jenny got up and walked over to Aislynn.

"I'm assuming you want your pancakes with blueberries? "She asked.

"Yes please jenny." Aislynn said.

Jenny looked at Dorothy and walked over to her.

"How about you?" jenny asked.

"Blueberry sounds good." Dorothy replied smiling.

Jenny nodded and walked out, as did Jessica, as they left Dorothy set the scepter down against the wall. Toto barked again and Dorothy put him down. He walked over to Aislynn and barked a few times, she picked him and received a lick to the face as well. As they laughed at this Aislynn set Toto down and wiped her face off with the sleeve of her gown.

"Can I show you two something?" Aislynn asked looking at them.

"Sure, where is it?" Ellie asked.

"I'll show you." Aislynn said walking out of the parlor.

Dorothy picked up the scepter and followed. Ellie followed behind her with Toto barking in their wake running to catch up with his owner. They walked for a few minutes before they got to a solid wooden door. Aislynn opened door revealing a blue carpeted staircase sloping downwards. She motioned for them to follow, as they descended Dorothy noticed that there were little devices and small machines hanging about on the walls from rope. When they got to the bottom of the stairs Aislynn walked over to a box on the wall and opened it. Inside was a large lever switch. When she threw the switch several lights lit up at once. Dorothy and Ellie both gasped in amazement. They were surrounded by gadgets and inventions, nick knacks, and even a recreation of his throne from the emerald city.

"Looks like your grandfather never stopped tinkering." Dorothy said walking over to the throne.

"What do you mean?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"I'll explain later." Dorothy said setting the scepter against it.

"My grandfather wanted to move that upstairs to the main room at some point." Aislynn said.

Dorothy was about to say something when they heard Jenny's voice from the steps.

"Aislynn, you know you're not supposed to be down there without proper footwear." Jenny said.

"Ugh! Jenny, why do you have to ruin my fun? I'm just showing Dorothy and Ellie around." Aislynn said.

"Aislynn, jenny's right, if you're not supposed to be down here unless certain conditions are met then we should go back up." Dorothy said picking the scepter and walking over to her.

Toto barked in agreement. Aislynn looked at Dorothy and sighed, she then walked back to the stairs.

"I guess so." She said.

Dorothy walked over to the box and threw the switch turning off the lights. As they ascended the steps Dorothy noticed Ellie was constantly looking behind them.

"What's wrong Ellie?" Dorothy asked looking at her friend curiously.

"I know this will sound a bit odd, but I feel like besides jenny, Jessica, and any other maid that may be in this manor, I think we're being watched by something we can't see." She said.

"I'm not technically a maid, I'm technically a nanny, or governess if you prefer." Came the voice of Jessica who now appeared behind jenny.

"What's a governess?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Basically a nanny." Both Aislynn and Jessica said in unison.

"Oh, but then why do you wear the maids outfit?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Because I am a maid, yes, but I am also a nanny." She replied.

"Oh." Ellie said again.

Dorothy hadn't said a word up to this point, she herself was slightly confused. As they got to the top of the steps Jenny led them to the kitchens. When they got to the kitchens Dorothy was in awe. It was like the emerald city kitchens, but it was just smaller in comparison.

"Wow." Ellie said.

"I know, Mr. Diggs expanded the kitchens after his first month in the manor." Jenny said.

"We've been taking care of Ace since before her father died." Jessica said.

"So you followed her when she came into custody of her grandfather?" Ellie asked.

"Exactly." They both said in unison.

"Are there any more of you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Nope, just us, we followed Aislynn when her father died." Jenny replied.

"Because we just couldn't leave her." Jessica replied

"You mentioned that once before." Ellie replied.

Toto barked as the scepter began to brightly. They all gasped at it. The light then enveloped the room and Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. She saw colors whizzing by her, she began to feel dizzy and soon she feel unconscious.

**Okay so I'll admit im not the sharpest nail in the pack, but I was a bit confused and like I said there is also one person who wants a DorothyXscarecrow pairing, what does the public think**


	9. a new game, and some comforting

**Disclaimer, I do not own the movies franchises, etc.**

When Dorothy awoke she found herself lying in on the floor of a room she didn't quite recognize, she knew she had seen it before but she couldn't put her finger on it. As she got up and dusted herself off she felt the cold floor touch her bare feet. She looked around and then noticed the scepter a few feet in front of her, hovering like it often did. As she went to grab it she found her wrist being grabbed, when she looked in the direction of the person who apprehended her and gasped when she noticed who it was.

"Oh no, you're not getting away so easily this time you little brat!" the jester said tightening his grip.

"What do you want now!? I know you're draining power from Oz, but you're also causing problems for the people I love." Dorothy said.

"What do I want? Well it's quite simple, I want CONTROL, POWER, and EVERYTHING ELSE that I've been denied because of you." The jester yelled, his voice echoing through the room.

"But why are you draining power, or energy from Oz in order to get back at me?" Dorothy asked slightly curious.

"All in good time my dear, all in good time." He said finally releasing her wrist.

"Well?" Dorothy asked not even moving from her spot.

"Well what?" Came the reply from the jester.

"You're just letting me go?" she asked.

"No of course not, that would be too easily, I needed a hostage, and this time I think I struck gold with It." he said taking out the wand and flicking it.

The room lit up and Dorothy gasped. He had Ellie, she was looking at her with a distressed look on her face.

"Please, I know you won't let her go but please just, don't hurt her!" Dorothy said running over to her.

"Oh I won't, I'll keep her as is, and I just won't keep her here." The jester said flicking the wand again.

Ellie then vanished, Dorothy looked at the jester with tears in her eyes.

"Oh is the little farm girl about to cry?" he asked teasingly.

Dorothy didn't respond, she walked over to the scepter and plucked it out of the air, it was then that she thought about something.

"Why is it that when you seem to have me cornered, and destroying me being the most sensible thing to do, you never do?" Dorothy asked wiping some tears from her eyes.

"I'll explain that to you when I think you should know." The jester said chuckling.

Dorothy then felt herself lurch forward she heard a voice.

"You will not harm her." Came the voice of Aislynn from the scepter.

As she felt herself leave the cold floor of the room she then immediately falling down into the wizard's chambers, directly this time into the arms of the scarecrow. She began to feel sick again, he rubbed her back a few times as she gasped and cough.

"I, really need, to get, used to that." She said through gasps.

"Sorry Kiddo but we had to, who knows what he would have done." The scarecrow replied.

"He has Ellie." Dorothy said starting to tear up.

"We know." Came the voice of Glinda.

Dorothy pushed herself away from the scarecrow, she ran over to Glinda and embraced her, Aislynn came up from behind Glinda.

"Aislynn what are you doing here?" Dorothy asked concerned.

"Miss Glinda brought me here, well Ellie did technically before the jester, took her." Aislynn said starting to cry.

"She reminds me a bit of you kiddo." The scarecrow said walking over and ruffling Dorothy's hair making her giggle.

"Dorothy, it is important that you understand this, what the jester is doing this time could lead to the end of Oz itself, what he's doing is dangerous, placing in Oz are already beginning to its beauty." Glinda said wiping some tears from Aislynn's eyes.

A clap of thunder then shook the palace.

"It hasn't stopped thundering since the jester returned." The scarecrow said looking outside worriedly.

This worried Dorothy, what was he doing? And more importantly why did he keep letting her go? She didn't know, but she wanted to. Ellie was once again gone, captured by the jester, and who knew what he could be doing to her. She shuddered at what he could have done, turning her to stone, or even a marionette. She couldn't bare the picture Ellie in these scenarios she felt sick again. Walking away from them Dorothy tightened her grasp around the scepter then she realized something.

"Wait what about Toto?" Dorothy asked.

"He's still at the manor." Aislynn said.

Dorothy sighed with relief and the scepter started to glow again.

"You two must go back, we will try to find the jester." Glinda said looking down at Aislynn who was pretty much attached to her.

Aislynn nodded, she released Glinda and walked over to Dorothy. Taking her hand she held on tightly, Dorothy then felt them lurch forward, she braced herself for the sick feeling was about to have. She then felt her feet touch the floor of the manor. She leaned against the scepter like a crutch, Aislynn went and threw up in the nearest trash bin. Jessica ran up to then and rubbed Aislynn's back, Dorothy's aunt and uncle ran up to her, Toto barking in their wake.

"Dorothy! What happened? Where's Ellie?" they both asked in concern

Dorothy regained her composure and her breath, she then turned to her aunt and uncle.

"She… she was captured, the jester is using her as hostage." Dorothy said beginning to tear up.

Aunt Em went and embraced her niece tightly.

"Dorothy, did he do anything to her?" Henry asked.

Dorothy was about to respond when they heard the doorbell ring. Jenny ran to out and Jessica led Aislynn to the kitchen table. She then walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a small bottle, Aislynn groaned.

"Do I still need to take the vitamin tablets?" She asked.

"Aislynn your grandfather wanted you to take them, your father wanted you to take them." Jessica replied walking over to her with a tablet.

Jenny then ran back in followed by the sheriff. Jenny was covering her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Jenny what's wrong?" Jessica asked.

The sheriff looked at Dorothy for a moment with a sad look on his face, then he turned to Aislynn who was swallowing the vitamin tablet. He then sighed.

"I'm afraid there's been, an incident." He said.

"What kind of incident?" Dorothy asked.

"There was a break in at the morgue, five bodies and one of the workers were stolen, one of them being your grandfather Aislynn." He replied looking a bit sick.

There was a sound of glass shattering, Aislynn had dropped the cup she used to take the tablet, and she got up with tears in her eyes and ran out of the room.

"Ace!" Jessica cried running after her.

Dorothy broke from her aunt and ran after Aislynn, Toto following after her. Dorothy felt tears welling up in her eyes. She knew this was the jester's work, but why would he need bodies? She didn't care at this point, she needed to comfort Aislynn. When she got to Aislynn's room she found Jessica waiting outside it, crying.

"She's locked herself in?" Dorothy asked picking up Toto.

"Yes, and she said the she hates me for following her." Jessica said wiping some tears from her eyes.

Dorothy nodded and embraced Jessica, she then knocked on Aislynn's door and leaned against it.

"Go away, I want to be alone!" came Aislynn's voice from the other side.

"Ace, please come out and talk about this." Jessica said.

"Jessica please, just go, she's really upset." Dorothy said

Jessica nodded and walked off, when Dorothy was sure she was alone she knocked on the door again.

"Aislynn, please, I'm not going to make you come out, I know I can't force you, but please if you want to talk about it and you won't talk to Jessica, please talk to me." Dorothy said.

"Go away and come back tomorrow, maybe by then I'll feel better." She replied through her tears.

Dorothy sighed, her aunt and uncle came up the stairs and walked over to her. She found herself still leaning against the door, she could hear her crying.

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of the sheriff who came from behind them

"She won't come out, she said come back tomorrow." Dorothy said chuckling a bit and leaning against the door, "You know Ace, your grandfather told me that once." She added.

There was silence for a minute, she then heard the door unlock and Aislynn running away from it.

"Dorothy, enter alone." Aislynn cried.

Dorothy looked at her aunt and uncle who nodded. She sighed and opened the door just enough so she could slide through. When she got in she shut the door and walked over to the bed, the neat piles of books were now strewn all about the room. She knew Aislynn had thrown a small fit. She leaned the scepter against the wall and sat on the bed next to Aislynn who was lying face down crying again.

"Aislynn I know that you've been through a lot, but believe me, you can't shut people out when you're suffering from loss, that's something I learned a long time ago." Dorothy said looking at her.

Aislynn looked up at her, tears still cascading from her eyes.

"Why do you care!? You have a family! I have No one!" she screamed at her.

"Aislynn don't say that, you know that's not true." Dorothy said.

"But it is, I've lost everyone I loved, my mom died when I was really young, then my father died, and now my grandfather, I have no other living kin, and just because my grandfather wanted you to take care of me doesn't make you family." Aislynn said looking at her with anger.

"Aislynn, I know but…" Dorothy started to say before Aislynn slapped her across the face.

"No! You don't know, you could never know what I'm going through!" She said getting up and running out of the room.

Dorothy heard her aunt and uncle calling after her, even the sheriff. Dorothy then heard the front door slamming. She knew Aislynn was trying to run away from her problems, just like she had so long ago. She ran out of the house after her, as did Toto. Dorothy chased Aislynn to the backyard where she leaned up against the giant barn and began to cry very hard. Dorothy just stood there, and she found herself thinking about something that she hadn't dwelled upon for a very long time. Jessica then came up behind her. Dorothy held out the scepter to block her path so that she could say something to her.

"Jessica have my aunt and uncle help you set up a picnic lunch, and have them call the library, let them know I won't be coming, were going on a little trip." Dorothy said.

Jessica nodded and began to turn around, Dorothy then stopped her again.

"Tell them, that I want to take Aislynn to the place." Dorothy added.

Dorothy began to tear up, she walked over to Aislynn and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave me be." She said trying to push her away.

"Aislynn, please talk to me." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, please!" She shouted.

"Aislynn, I, I want to show you something later." Dorothy finally managed to say.

"What is it?" she asked through her tears.

"I'll show you later, but please come back inside, you need to get dressed." Dorothy said as Aislynn turned around and faced her.

Dorothy wiped the tears from aislynn's face. She then embraced her tightly.

"I'm so sorry." Aislynn said returning the embrace

Dorothy didn't say anything she just broke from the embrace and took Aislynn's hand. Leading her back into the house she was met with jenny. Aislynn ran over and hugged her tightly trying to apologize. Jenny then led Aislynn up to her room to change into some day clothes. Jessica then entered the room carrying Dorothy's dress and shirt.

"They're still a bit damp but I'm sure you want to be out that." She said handing them to Dorothy.

Jessica was right they were a bit damp, but she knew she could manage. She nodded and walked to the bathroom where she changed out of the nightgown and into her normal clothes. When she emerged she found Aislynn talking to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Dorothy tightened her grip round the scepter again. Aislynn looked at her and ran up to her, embracing her tightly. Toto barked and tried to join them.

"Dorothy, the stuff for the picnic lunch should be done soon, are you sure you want to show her this?" Henry asked looking at her.

"Yes, I am." Dorothy said walking over to the rack and grabbing her boots.

"Well, I'll go ask Miss Jessica to arrange something for us quick." Em said running off towards the kitchen.

Dorothy pulled on her boots, she then grabbed a pair of light green dress shoes from the rack and handed them to Aislynn. She took them and pulled them on. Jenny and Aunt Em then came back in. aunt Em was carrying a picnic basket and a small blue bag, she looked at Dorothy and smiled weakly. She then handed the picnic basket to Dorothy who took it and looked inside. She smiled when she saw the contents. She then shut it as Toto barked at her. Dorothy handed the scepter to her aunt.

"Please carry that." Dorothy said to her aunt who nodded.

Dorothy then grabbed Aislynn's hand and led them out of the house. The sheriff ran out after them.

"Dorothy, are you sure, I was there for…" He said trailing off when he saw her face, "Well allow me to take you two." He added.

Dorothy's aunt and uncle nodded at her, she then looked at the sheriff and nodded. Tightening her grip on Aislynn's hand she led her to the sheriff's truck and helped her get in the back seat, she handed the picnic basket to the sheriff and then picked up Toto. She handed him to Aislynn who set him down on the seat next to her. She then ran over to her aunt and grabbed the scepter. She then ran back to the truck and got in.


	10. Memories and realizations

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

They drove for a while, maybe an hour or two before they came to a small flower filled field. The sheriff stopped the truck. Dorothy's aunt and uncle pulled up behind them, she then got out of the truck, grabbing the scepter she opened the back of the truck. Aislynn and Toto hopped out. The sheriff appeared a short time later wielding the picnic basket and the small blue bag. Dorothy led them up the hill and sighed.

"I remember having picnics here a lot when was younger." Dorothy said sitting down.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes?" Dorothy replied.

"What's that over there?" she asked referring to a large metal gate about maybe half a mile away.

"I'll show you once we've eaten." Dorothy said putting down the picnic basket.

Aislynn sighed as Dorothy's aunt and uncle joined them. Her aunt went into the basket and pulled out a blanket. The sheriff came up the hill carrying his bag of toffee. Dorothy laughed at this, he looked a bit embarrassed carrying it.

"Trying to hide the evidence?" Henry asked chuckling.

They all laughed at this for a minute, then they sat down and Aunt Em passed around some small plates. Dorothy looked at the contents again.

"My grandfather had asked for a picnic to be prepared in the event that he, got better." Aislynn said trailing off.

Dorothy took a small box out of the picnic basket and handed it to Aislynn.

"I assume this must be for you." Dorothy said.

"I don't know, he never said anything about a surprise but he was really good at that." Aislynn said setting it aside.

"Don't you want to see what it is dear?" Aunt Em asked curiously.

Aislynn shook her head, she then grabbed a small sandwich from the basket. She then took another sandwich from the basket and handed it to Dorothy. She thanked Aislynn and took a bite. She began to remember her time in the forest, her time with Ellie. She missed that. They ate and made small conversation about the weather and how good the food was before Dorothy grabbed the scepter and stood up. Picking up the blue bag she also helped Aislynn up.

"Are you going to show me what you wanted me to see now? Aislynn asked.

Dorothy nodded and led them both forward, they both looked back to see Dorothy's aunt tucking the small box back into the picnic basket. Dorothy and Aislynn walked towards the gate for a few minutes until they were about halfway there. Aislynn then tugged on Dorothy's dress a few times.

"I really don't like the look of this place." Aislynn said looking at it.

"I never did either as a kid but there is something I have to show you." Dorothy said pointing the scepter towards the gate.

Aislynn nodded and continued to walk, the walked closer and closer for a few minutes. When they got close enough Dorothy began to tear up a bit. Aislynn looked up and saw one rolling down her cheek.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked as they came up to the gate.

It was then Aislynn saw where they were. It looked like an old graveyard, there were white marble tombstones everywhere. Dorothy looked at them and shudder a bit. She then walked over to the large entrance gate and pushed it open. Leading Aislynn in, they walked among the stones for a while until they came up to a white marble angel statue. Dorothy knelt down and stuck her hand into the blue bag. She pulled a bundle of lilies and roses, sighing she plucked one out of the bouquet and handed it to Aislynn gesturing for her to get closer and look.

"Dorothy, why have you brought me here?" she asked looking down at the engraving on the tombstone.

Dorothy sighed and read it aloud.

"In loving memory of Frank and Madeline gale, Parents and Friends, may their memory live on and again." Dorothy said laying the flowers down, "It's my parent's grave." She added as the scepter began to glow a bit.

"Dorothy, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I thought you just stayed with your aunt and uncle during the summer." Aislynn said kneeling down next to Dorothy.

"Most people did before the funeral." Dorothy said, "I was really young when my mom and dad died, much younger than you are now." She added.

"How old were you?" she asked.

"I was about five or six at the time." Dorothy said as some tears dripped down onto the stone.

"Dorothy, I…" Aislynn said before Dorothy placed a hand out to silence her.

"Ace, you don't need to say anything." Dorothy said.

Aislynn was about to make a remark before they both heard a clap of thunder. They both looked up, there were no clouds in the sky. Dorothy began to get worried. He wouldn't come here would he? Not now? Not while she was at her parents grave. They heard some footsteps behind them slowly approaching Dorothy stood up and held the scepter in position to attack.

"Show yourself I'm armed, and really upset at the moment." Dorothy said into the mist that was beginning to form.

A single white lily flower flew out of the mist, it landed a few inches short of the statue and its tombstone. Dorothy looked at it for a minute and then turned to see the mist vanishing, a small piece of paper fluttered from the air around the mist. Dorothy walked over and picked it up reading it aloud.

"My condolences." She read.

"Whose it from?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"I, don't know." Dorothy said looking around curiously.

Dorothy then walked over to Aislynn and took her hand. Leading her out of the graveyard. As they walked Dorothy let go of Aislynn's hand and told her to go on ahead.

"Why Dorothy?" she asked.

"I want to go back and say goodbye." Dorothy said.

"Okay, I understand." Aislynn said running ahead.

Dorothy smiled and turned back to the graveyard. When she got back she began to cry softly, she walked back to the grave and knelt down. Setting the scepter on the ground next her she touched the grave.

"Hi mom, hi dad, it's been a while." Dorothy said smiling.

The wind began to blow gently. Some of the flowers began to blow around in it.

"I've spent far too long away from here, I brought a friend of mine on a picnic to show her that she's not the only one who lost her parents and really most of her family." Dorothy said.

Dorothy heard a noise behind her but this didn't concern her, she was busy talking to her parents. She stood up and walked up to the stone angel. Placing her hand on the angels face she smiled.

"But I know that you guys have been watching me, and I will never forget you guys, auntie Em and Uncle Henry are doing well, and they haven't talked about you guys in a while." She said looking up at the face of the angel.

Dorothy then felt something drip onto her hand, she drew it back and looked at it, it was a tear, a single tear. She looked up and was met with the sight of the jester sitting on a large tree branch, and for the first time he was crying. He made no acknowledgment that he knew she was aware of his presences, he just took the wand and flicked it. A handkerchief appeared in his hand. He wiped his eyes and then blew his noses loudly. He then realized he was being watched, he regained his composure and jumped out of the tree.

"So, you lost your own parents at a very young age." The jester said.

"Yes, but that's beside the point, why are you here?" Dorothy asked.

"Know your enemy, learn their weaknesses, I know that list you gave me was only your physical weaknesses." He said, "but I ended up finding you here." He added looking at the stone.

"But why are you of all people, feeling sorry for me?" Dorothy asked bending over to pick up the scepter.

"Because, we lost our parents when we were very young." The jester said.

"You mean, you lost your parents when you were young?" Dorothy asked.

"they were killed in an explosion, but our parents were practiconers of sorcery, but something went wrong, I saw it happen, and when you see something like that, you never forget it." he said as a mist surrounded them.

"And you were left in the care of your sisters." Dorothy said.

"Correct, well my sister the witch of the west." He said as the mist showed the image of a young boy who looked like the jester.

The young boy was crying, when a figure came up behind him. He turned around looking frightened, he was about to scream when his clothes immediately in a flash of light, became those that the jester was wearing now. Dorothy looked at him in surprise, she had just seen the jester's past, but she didn't dwell on this for very long as the mist immediately cleared.

"But now, my plan is in motion, and soon, very soon, I shall be able to do what I planned." He said.

The jester then cackled loudly, he then vanished. Leaving Dorothy alone. She turned around and ran out of the graveyard. After several minutes she reached where they were having the picnic. She looked up at the sky. It was growing dark and ominous. She clutched scepter tightly.

"We need to go, I saw him." Dorothy said.

The scepter then began to glow brightly again, Aislynn got up and embraced Dorothy tightly, Glinda's voice emerged from the scepter.

"Dorothy, we are bringing you to Oz, brace yourself." She said.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of her uncle.

Dorothy didn't have time to respond, she immediately felt herself lurch forward. As the colors whizzed past her she began to feel dizzy and sick again. She felt Aislynn grasp on to her tighter. She then immediately came to an abrupt halt. Aislynn let go of her and Dorothy fell over on to the floor. She felt sick, really sick.

"Dorothy? Do you want a bucket?" Glinda asked walking over to her.

Dorothy nodded, a metal bucket appeared right in front of her. She picked it up and tried to get up. She was too dizzy, she immediately feel back down and vomited into the bucket.

"Steady on kiddo." Came the voice of the scarecrow.

The scarecrow walked over and helped Dorothy up. The bucket immediately vanished. Dorothy looked over to Aislynn, she was on the ground trying to regain her breath and composure.

"Scarecrow, take Aislynn to the library, I'm sure she'd like it there." Dorothy said.

"Sure thing kiddo." He said walking over to her.

The scarecrow helped Aislynn up and led her out of the chambers leaving Dorothy alone with Glinda.

"Dorothy, I'm sorry we have to keep bringing you to Oz like this but right now it's the only way." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and picking up the scepter

Glinda then took Dorothy's hand and led her out of the chambers. They walked a while until they got to Glinda's room. Dorothy saw a sight that made her heart drop, it was Ellie, lying motionless on Glinda's bed. Dorothy ran over to her.

"How?" she asked concerned.

"He let her go, but she won't wake, she's still alive, just in some type of coma." Glinda said handing the scepter back to Dorothy.

"Is it really her though? It's not just a trap?" Dorothy asked.

"It's really her, if it wasn't the image of us watching her wouldn't be in the crystal ball." Glinda said referring the crystal behind them.

Dorothy turned around and was met with the image of herself facing into the crystal. She knelt down at the bedside and ran a hand through Ellie's hair.

"But why would he just let her go?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He said, and I quote, I feel sorry for taking your sister, but I had to get to her somehow." Glinda said.

"I saw him, he was at the graveyard crying in a tree above my parents grave." Dorothy said recounting everything that happened before Glinda stopped her.

"I know my dear child, I have been watching, knowing exactly where you are is the only way I've been able to run magic directly at the scepter to bring you here." Glinda said.

They both looked at the scepter which at this point had now gone completely dark. Dorothy sighed and got up. She kissed Ellie on the cheek before Glinda led her over to the crystal ball.

"Why did you bring me here though?" Dorothy asked looking at the crystal ball.

"Oz is losing its essence, its magic is draining." Glinda said waving her wand over the crystal.

The munchkin city appeared in crystal ball. It was turning grey, the center where the yellow brick road began was a darker grey then the rest of the city. Dorothy gasped at this.

"The jester is draining Oz of magic?" Dorothy asked.

"We think it's him." Glinda said.

"But why would he do that?" Dorothy asked.

"We don't know, neither Alison nor I can come up with a reason." Glinda said as the crystal went dark.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Ellie.

They both turned around and looked at her. She had moved in the small window of time that had turned away from her.

"Ellie?" Dorothy asked walking over to her.

Glinda walked over as well, her wand had begun to glow a bit.

"Dorothy, please, help me." She said, her eyes still closed.

Dorothy was about to say something when Alison ran in.

"Oh, Dorothy, it's good to see you again, I heard her talking, is she coming to?" she asked.

"I think she's just watching through me, she knows Dorothy is here and is acknowledging her presence." Glinda said sadly.

"She can do that in her sleep?" Alison asked taking out her small book and flipping through it.

"Yes, and so can I." Glinda said sighing.

Dorothy didn't say anything, she put a hand on Ellie's forehead, it felt normal, she was alright besides the fact that she was asleep. Dorothy began to tear up, she got up and ran out of the room. It wasn't long before she found herself in the business district again. She walked to Brianna's ice cream parlor and went in.

"Dorothy, Hi, Glinda said she'd be bringing you to Oz again, Have you been crying?" she asked as her parents came out of the back room.

Dorothy nodded and sat down at a table. Brianna came from behind the counter and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dorothy, what happened?" She asked.

"Ellie, she spoke, she knew I was here." Dorothy said wiping some tears from her eyes.

Brianna looked at her parents and they nodded, going back into the back room. The door to the parlor then opened and the scarecrow came in followed by Aislynn.

"Hello your majesty, and who's this little flower?" Brianna asked looking at Aislynn.

Aislynn didn't say anything, she just walked over to Dorothy and wrapped her arms around her.

"Dorothy, please, Glinda told us what happened." Aislynn said.

Dorothy turned her head to look at her.

"Aislynn please, just. Brianna get her some ice cream." Dorothy said getting up.

"Don't you want something as well? I've got some new flavors, blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry." Brianna said looking at her.

"Not right now Brianna, Aislynn, over at the counter is their menu of flavors, pick out one you want." Dorothy said.

Aislynn hugged Dorothy tighter, she didn't like this person, she didn't know them that well.

"Is she shy?" Brianna asked looking at Dorothy.

"Sometimes, yes, she can be, but Aislynn, this is Brianna, she's one of Ellie's comrades, you have no reason to be afraid of her." Dorothy said

Aislynn let go of Dorothy and walked over to Brianna offering her a hand. The shook hands for a minute and then Brianna walked towards the counter.

"So your name is Aislynn?" She asked.

"Yes, but some people call me ace for short, since its pronounce Ace-Lynn." She said weakly.

"She's the wizard's granddaughter." The scarecrow said smiling, "she's a bright kid too." He added.

"Oh, wow, your grandfather was a legend here in Oz, and it's a pleasure to meet you at last, Glinda was telling us about how you were left to Dorothy." Brianna said handing her a small menu.

"No thanks, I'd like to try that new blueberry flavor of yours." Aislynn said handing it back.

"A good choice." Brianna said.

"You know, sometimes I wish I was able to eat, then I wouldn't feel jealous of always hearing about how popular your ice cream is getting Brianna." The scarecrow said chuckling.

"I'm flattered." Brianna said scooping out the ice cream into a cup and handing it to Aislynn.

"Thank you." Aislynn said taking it.

Brianna then grabbed a spoon from the little cup on the counter and handed it to her. Aislynn smiled and took a spoonful. She smiled and walked over to the table where Dorothy was and sat down.

"I take it that you like it?" Brianna asked giggling.

Aislynn nodded and continued eating. She looked at the scarecrow, and then at Dorothy who were both watching her.

"What? Did I get some on my face?" Aislynn asked giggling.

"You remind me so much of myself when I was younger." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I'm flattered, but there's one big difference between us." Aislynn said.

"What's that?" Dorothy and the scarecrow asked curiously.

"You actually have a family." Aislynn said.

"Aislynn stop, you'll just make yourself upset again." Dorothy said.

Aislynn sighed and took some ice cream on her finger, she then leaned on forward and wiped it on Dorothy's nose giggling.

"Hey." Dorothy said giggling.

The scarecrow then walked over to Dorothy and chuckled when he saw her. Dorothy got up and walked to counter grabbing a napkin and wiping the ice cream off her nose.

"Aislynn don't do that." The scarecrow said walking over to her and ruffling her hair.

"Sorry, but it was funny wasn't it?" Aislynn asked.

"I guess it was." He replied.

"Hey ace, did you enjoy the library?" Dorothy asked walking over

"I want to go back." Aislynn said.

Dorothy giggled at this. She knew this was going to be aislynn's response.

"She is a very intelligent girl." The scarecrow said chuckling.

"She likes to read a lot." Dorothy said as Glinda entered the ice cream parlor.

"Dorothy, I just talked with your aunt and uncle, they returned to the farmhouse, they think you should probably spend the night here in the emerald city." She said.

"Can I go back to the library now?" Aislynn said finishing off the ice cream and getting up.

Dorothy chuckled and looked at the scarecrow, she nodded and the scarecrow took Aislynn by the hand and led her out of the ice cream shop. Glinda then sat down in the chair where Aislynn had been sitting.

"Cute kid, a bit like you, she seems to have taken a liking to the king though." Brianna said.

"Not to mention she, by most rules is heir to the throne of Oz as much as Ellie is heir to the throne of the north." Glinda said.

Dorothy looked at Glinda in surprise, but then she thought about it. Aislynn was the wizard's granddaughter, she was the last living kin of one of the greatest men Dorothy ever met. And now, she had finally come to oz.

"I don't think that Aislynn would like being the ruler of a strange land, she doesn't really like being in public that much." Dorothy said.

"I've noticed, Dorothy please understand this though, she is technically heir to the throne and nothing we can do will change that." Glinda said in a sad tone.

"I know Glinda." Dorothy said as the door to the parlor opened again.

This time the china princess walked in, followed by Marshall Mallow. The princess saw Dorothy and walked over to her.

"Hello Dorothy, we heard what happened from his majesty." The princess said.

"I've had better days princess." Dorothy said sighing.

"I can imagine, Glinda, how's Ellie doing?" she asked.

"She's moved a lot more." Glinda replied.

"that's good, do you think you and Alison can find a spell to wake her?" the princess asked curiously.

"Now dear, you shouldn't ask to many questions, you know you could, upset someone." Marshall mallow said, as his voice trailed off nervously.

"I know dear, but I want to know." The princess replied.

"I don't know your highness." Glinda said.

Dorothy then began to feel dizzy again, she didn't know why though.

"Dorothy? are you okay?" the china princess asked.

Dorothy didn't respond she just blacked out.


	11. Awakening as the game begins

**Disclaimer I do not own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

Dorothy awoke a few hours later. She looked around and noticed she was in her usual bed room. She looked at the dresser next to her and found that her key was on it, as well as the two keys that she had gotten from Mr. Diggs. She picked them up and strung them onto the ribbon that her room key was on. She then realized she was in a nightgown again. She looked around and then noticed that her dress was hanging off the bedpost, she also noticed that scepter was now floating in front of it. She also found that her boots were nowhere to be seen. She smiled a bit, and walked over to the scepter. Plucking it out of the air she walked to the closet. She noticed her boots were sitting at the back of the closet next to the pink crystal orb, as was the backpack she had used during her last visit. She smiled and went to change into her dress. When she had accomplished this she grabbed the keys and walked out of her room. Locking the door behind her she went to the chambers, where she found Aislynn lying on the floor reading a book. Dorothy giggled at this, causing Aislynn to turn to her.

"Dorothy, you're awake, good, we are currently alone in the city right now." Aislynn said.

"How do you know that?" Dorothy asked.

"Because Glinda and the others went off on an odd looking book heading westwards." Aislynn said.

"Why would they leave you here though?" Dorothy asked.

"Because they wanted me to stay safe." Aislynn said.

"But leaving you alone with me unconscious?" Dorothy asked.

"Well Ellie is still here, I go to Glinda's room every now and then to check on her, she's moved around a lot, and has been saying your name a lot." Aislynn said.

This made Dorothy smile, she walked over to Aislynn and helped her up, and she then led her out of the chambers and back to Glinda's room. When they got there they found Ellie shifting around.

"I don't like seeing her in this state." Dorothy said tearing up a bit.

"Dorothy, why are you barefoot?" Aislynn asked looking at Dorothy's feet.

"Because, well it's a rather a long story." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, please, help." Ellie said weakly.

The scepter began to glow dimly. Dorothy didn't know what to do. She walked over to Ellie and placed a hand on her shoulder. The scepter began to glow brighter, Dorothy looked at it in surprise, and she then took her hand off Ellie and waved the scepter over her.

"The scepter seems to have a better idea of what I want it to do than I do." Dorothy said.

"You mean it's sentient?" Aislynn asked.

"What?" Dorothy asked.

"It can think for itself?" Aislynn asked.

"I don't know, I hardly know how to use this thing already." Dorothy said.

"Oh." Was her response.

The scepter's orb began to fill with a pink smoke, Ellie's body was beginning the get an obvious glow to it. Dorothy looked at her and smiled.

"Ellie? Can you hear me?" Dorothy asked.

Ellie didn't respond, soon the scepters glow subsided and returned to normal, Ellie shifted her position a few more times. Then, as a surprise to both Aislynn and Dorothy, Ellie's eyes opened. She looked around and smiled when she saw Dorothy.

"Hello." Ellie said weakly, she then changed her position to sitting up.

Dorothy didn't say anything, she embraced Ellie tightly.

"Ellie, I missed you so much." Dorothy said.

"Thank you Dorothy, where's my sister by the way?" Ellie asked.

"The entire team took Tugg to the west, why I don't know." Dorothy said as Ellie got up and walked over to the crystal ball.

She touched it and closed her eyes. The crystal ball immediately lit up, the image of Glinda and their friends looking around the witch's castle for some sort of clue appeared in the crystal. Glinda immediately stopped dead in her tracks, she knew that Ellie was talking to her, and this time it was real the scarecrow came up to Glinda and looked at her.

"Glinda? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Ellie's awake." She replied with a sigh of relief.

"That's good news." Came the voice of the tin man.

"Did you guys find any hints as to what the jester might be trying to do?" came the voice of Elena.

"Nope, but there is some good news." Came the voice of the china princess.

"What?" Came the voice of Alyssa.

"Ellie's awake." Glinda said.

"That's good, we should head back though, if there's nothing here." Came the voice of Chrissy who sounded like she was trying to multi task.

"What about Dorothy?" Came the voice of Caitlyn.

"What about her? She's in the emerald city, she should be safe." Glinda said.

"Well that's good, what about Aislynn we left her there alone with to pretty much unconscious people." Elena asked concerned.

"Dorothy should be awake by now, if Ellie's awake that is one assumption I can make that would make sense at this point." the scarecrow said.

"Isn't that right Ellie?" Glinda asked.

Ellie opened her eyes and gasped.

"You know it's very impolite to spy on people." Glinda added waving her wand.

The scepter began to glow and Ellie vanished. Her image soon appeared in the crystal ball next to Glinda.

"Sis, you know I hate it when you do that." Ellie said trying to catch her breath.

"I know, but you shouldn't be spying on us." Glinda said waving her wand again.

This time Glinda and Ellie disappeared and reappeared right next to them. Aislynn jumped a bit then hid behind Dorothy.

"Aislynn why are you hiding it's just magic." Dorothy said giggling.

"I know, it's just that, it kind of frightens me." Aislynn said.

"Oh." Dorothy said.

"I'll be right back." Glinda said waving her wand again.

She vanished and the crystal went dark. Ellie shut her eyes tightly.

"Glinda's informing the guys that they should take tugg back to the emerald city." Ellie said as Glinda reappeared right next to her.

"Ellie dear, you should probably get changed into something more comfortable." Glinda said.

Ellie nodded and left the room. Glinda then walked up to Dorothy and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dorothy what exactly did you do?" she asked her.

"I didn't, the scepter did." Dorothy said.

Dorothy then went on to explain what happened, Glinda sighed and smiled.

"Dorothy, how much do you love Ellie?" Glinda asked.

"Ellie is like a sister to me, you know that Glinda." Dorothy said.

"Yes, and the scepter saw your concern for her wellbeing, it broke the jesters hold on her, which also shows that this is really her, because the magic would not have worked otherwise and the figure would have just vanished." Glinda said.

This made Dorothy smile, Glinda then walked over to Aislynn and took her hand, leading her out of the room Dorothy followed. She was relieved that Ellie was alright. She didn't have much time to dwell on this though before she was pulled into Ellie's crushing embrace.

"Thank you Dorothy." Ellie whispered into her ear

Dorothy smiled and returned them embrace, she and Ellie walked to the chambers hand in hand where they found Glinda watching Aislynn reading on the floor again.

"She's a really nice kid." Ellie said walking over to her and looking at the book.

"Thank you Ellie." Aislynn said switching her position so that she could lie down on her back.

Aislynn proceeded to cross her legs in front of her. Her light green dress shoes shined in the setting sun coming through the window. Ellie grabbed one of them and pulled it off holding just out of reach similar to how Dorothy did it to her.

"Hey give that back." Aislynn said setting down the book and giggling.

Ellie giggled and continued to hold it just out of her reach. Dorothy smiled and walked over to Ellie and watched as she was tackled over by Aislynn. Dorothy and Glinda both laughed rather loudly at this. Aislynn eventually got her dress shoe back. She the then got off of Ellie and put it back on.

"That was fun." Ellie said, "Dorothy used to do that to me a lot." She added.

"Dorothy, you can be a really bad influence sometimes." Came the voice of the scarecrow from behind them.

"I know." She replied giggling, "where are tin man and the lion?" she asked

"They are in the gardens reorganizing the flowers before the princess has a fit in her boredom." The scarecrow said, "Having fun?" he asked Aislynn.

She blushed and nodded making them all laugh.

"I think she likes you scarecrow." Ellie said.

"Well one intellectual to another I think she is a really bright child." He said.

Aislynn blushed more and giggled slightly. She then got up and closed her book.

"What room will I be sleeping in by the way?" She asked.

"Well, we can make you one for yourself here in the city or you can sleep in Dorothy's room with her." The scarecrow said.

Aislynn thought about this for a minute she then looked at Dorothy and walked over to her.

"I think I'll stay with Dorothy, I feel safe around her." Aislynn said hugging Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled, just then the scepter began to glow brightly again. Aislynn let go of Dorothy to shield her eyes this time. Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. Colors were swirling around her again, she began to get that sick feeling that she knew sooner or later she would have to get used to. She then felt bare feet hit solid ground. She fell over and dropped the scepter. She found herself in the hall at castle grey. She got up and looked for the scepter, she couldn't find it. She then heard a voice.

"Looking for something my little barefoot pretty?" came the voice of the jester from behind her.

He was holding the scepter, which had now gone completely dark. She hoped that Glinda watching and would soon show up to help her.

"Don't worry about your friends, they can't help you now." He said throwing the scepter to the side.

"What do you want with me?" Dorothy asked catching her breath.

"Oh like I said, nothing much, just revenge, but I won't be exacting my revenge now, I just wanted to tell you that the new game has officially begun." He said laughing wickedly.

He then flicked the wand in his hand and Dorothy was forced to her feet. As soon as she was up she ran for the scepter. When she got to it and picked it up it glowed weakly. She then felt herself lurch forward again. The feeling of dizziness and being sick once again fell upon her. She braced herself for impact and eventually she found herself landing on her bed in the emerald city. Aislynn was sleeping peacefully in a small bed that Dorothy knew Glinda probably set up. She sighed and blacked out.

"Dorothy! Wake up!" came the mixed voices of Ellie and Aislynn.

Dorothy opened her eyes and sat up. Only to be immediately pulled into a crushing embrace by Ellie. Dorothy returned the embrace and sighed.

"What time is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Eight o'clock." Aislynn replied pointing to the clock.

"I'm assuming I missed breakfast then?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, but we brought you some fruit." Ellie replied breaking from the embrace.

As Ellie moved out of the way Dorothy saw that the scepter was floating in front of the bed like it had been the previous evening. She looked over at the dress and saw an apple. She picked it up and took a bite. Aislynn then climbed up on the bed and lay across Dorothy's legs.

"Glinda said that you were once again captured by the jester." Aislynn said.

"I was, he wanted to tell me that the new came has officially begun, which means we should be preparing for battle." She said getting up.

"Dorothy, Aislynn and I are to return to Kansas in an hour, you are supposed to have council with all the leaders of Oz that aren't affected by the jester's magic at the moment." Ellie said handing Dorothy a piece of paper.

Dorothy read the paper to herself, a summons to a war council? What difference would it make? How could she help Oz when she needed to protect her own home from the jester? She was completely confused by this but decided not to question it.

"Ellie, when you and Aislynn eave, go straight to my aunt and uncles, keep them safe in any way you can." Dorothy said walking over to the scepter and grabbing it.

"Will do, and Dorothy." Ellie said.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Take care of yourself." Ellie said smiling

Ellie then took Aislynn by the hand and led her out of the room. Dorothy walked over to the closet and went to grab her boots. When she had retrieved them and emerged from the closet she found that there was a small pink envelope on her bed. She walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Resting the scepter down her picked up the envelope and opened it. Taking out the small paper inside she immediately recognized it as a note from the china princess.

"War council today, after your friends depart, see you there, yours truly china princess." Dorothy read aloud to herself.

She smiled and picked up the scepter. Getting up she walked over to the dresser and knocked on it. It opened revealing the book and the pink orb, now back in there proper place instead of in the back pack. She picked up the orb and put it in her dress pocket. Then sitting on the bed she pulled on her boots and walked out of her room. Shutting and locking the door behind her as she always did, she walking in the direction of the chambers. When she got there she found an entire group of people waiting there. Including Glinda, Ellie and Aislynn. They all looked at her and smiled.

"Dorothy, I've decided to send Ellie and Aislynn back now." Glinda said.

"Aislynn and I thought it would be safer if we left as soon as possible." Ellie said as Aislynn nodded in agreement.

"That's probably a good idea." Dorothy said looking at Glinda.

She nodded and Glinda waved her wand over them and they vanished. She then waved her wand again and a large table appeared in the middle of the room. The scarecrow walked over and took the seat at the head of the table. The tin man and lion taking seats to his left and right, Glinda took a seat next to the lion. Dorothy sat in her usual place at the foot at the table. The china princess and Marshall Mallow then came into the chambers and took their seats to the left of Dorothy. Everyone else took their seats around the other chairs. Alyssa and Elena then walked in and took their seats next the princess.

"So, we all know why we are assembled here." The scarecrow said.

"It's a war council right?" Alyssa asked.

"Well sort of, it's a meeting to plan some sort of evasive action." The tin man said in a serious tone.

"Oh, that's nice, well what do we know so far?" the china princess asked.

"Well we know that he's draining energy from Oz, but we don't know why." The scarecrow said.

"we also know that Aislynn is really the true heir to the throne, and that puts her in more danger, and the jester is most likely watching us right now." Dorothy said making everyone gasp.

"What makes you say that dear?" Glinda asked looking at her with a shocked expression.

"Because he always seems to be watching me, and planning his next move." Dorothy replied to them.

"What are the odds of that actually happening though?" the china princess asked.

"Let's find out, Engaging neural synaptic simulation sequence." The scarecrow said taking out a pad of paper and quickly noting stuff down.]

His eyes darted about as if looking at entities that could only be seen by him alone. He quickly jotted down everything constantly mumbling stuff to himself until he came to a halt, he looked down at the paper, added everything up and sighed.

"Well?" Elena asked.

"Sadly, pretty likely I'm afraid." The scarecrow replied taking the piece of paper and ripping it in half.

"What do we know about the grey areas?" Marshall Mallow asked.

"Well, what I've gather so far, is that magic has no effect what so ever in these places, Munchkin mayor what say you on the subject?" Glinda asked looking at him.

"Well, I've found that more and more of my citizens are losing their color as fast as the land is, they are becoming lazy and sluggish." He said sadly.

"I wonder why he's doing something like this." The princess asked curiously.

Glinda was about to say something when Ellie's voice was heard from the other room.

They all got up and ran to the other side of the chambers. The mirror that was in there was showing Ellie in a bit of a panic, Aislynn was standing behind her they could hear sirens going off in the background.

"Oh no." Dorothy said worriedly.

"What's going on?" the princess asked.

"That's a tornado warning, Glinda I need to get home now, and you guys need to get a plan." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, no." the scarecrow said.

"Scarecrow I have to" Dorothy said looking at Glinda.

Glinda looked at her sadly and nodded, she waved her wand. The scepter glowed brightly and Dorothy felt herself lurch forward.

**During another adventure a while back I asked you guys to guess you think I got Ellie's name from. I pose that question again, take a guess in the reviews.**


	12. The storm and the Aftermath

**Disclaimer, I don't own the films, franchises, etc.**

Dorothy felt herself lurch forward, she knew that this was going to be one heck of a twister this time. She immediately braced herself for the sudden stop and the dizziness that was coming. She soon found herself falling into Ellie's arms. She looked up and smiled.

"Your aunt and uncle are already in the storm cellar, we should head there as well." Ellie said as Toto ran over to them barking.

Dorothy nodded, tightening her grip around the scepter, they all ran out of the farmhouse. The sky wasn't the common green color that it normally was when there was a tornado, but a purple color that she had only seen once before. They ran out in the pouring rain to the storm cellar. When they all got in Dorothy was pulled into an embrace by her aunt and uncle.

"This is going to be one heck of a twister I think." Auntie Em said.

"I don't think it's a twister auntie Em." Dorothy said as Ellie shut the cellar doors.

"What do you mean Dorothy?" Aislynn asked nervously.

"Ace, please don't worry about it." Dorothy said as a loud explosion was heard outside.

Ellie shrieked and embraced Dorothy. Uncle Henry sighed and turned on the radio, it crackled for a bit then a voice came on.

"And now to our weather forecast." Said a woman on the radio.

"This might give us a better picture as to what's going on." Henry said

"Thank you, and I would like to report that the odd looking purple clouds that are hanging over the town seem to be producing a funnel, it is likely that we are about to have a tornado, so this is me signing off." Said a man on the radio.

"thank you for that interesting report, the alarms have already been sounded, if you are not inside or in a basement already you should probably…now…" the women said the radio began to lose signal.

Uncle Henry sighed and handed the radio to Auntie Em who took fiddled with it for a minute. Then a voice came up on it.

"This just in on the continuing situation, the storm has produced highly dangerous, emerald green colored lightning? You can't be serious? Oh really? Okay then, well apparently this lightning is causing severe damages to everything it hits" a man said as the radio went dead.

Dorothy sighed and as the cellar lights went out making Aislynn scream. Dorothy looked at her aunt and uncle and then at Ellie. She knew this was the jester's work. She tightened her grip on the scepter which began to take on its usual dim glow. She then turned on her heels and ran to the cellar door. As she pushed it open Ellie grabbed onto her hand and try to pull her back.

"Dorothy! What are you doing, you'll get killed if you go out there!" Ellie screamed.

"Ellie, I'm sorry." Dorothy said pulling herself away from her grasp.

Dorothy then waved the scepter over the cellar door and it shut. Dorothy looked out into the fields, she couldn't see anything through the rain. A bolt of lightning then struck dangerously close to her, causing her to stumble. She used the scepter to regain balance and then ran towards the direction of the main road. She found herself running for what felt like hours, she had to find the jester, or at least the tornado in order stop it. She saw a street sign fly by her in the wind which was beginning to pick up and get louder, another bolt of lightning struck next to her throwing her to the ground. The scepter began to glow she tried to get up again but slipped. She looked up, another flash of lightning struck near her making her wince. She then managed to finally get up. Looking down at her dress she saw it was now completely caked with mud. She shrugged this off and continued running the sound of the wind was deafening, and it was pushing against her as well. She continued forward until saw a large night purple colored tornado. She looked at it with fury, it was coming right at her now, she began to raise the scepter which was now glowing an extremely bright green, she then was about to say something when she began to feel dizzy, she collapsed, and blacked out.

"Ms. Gale? Can you hear me? Miss gale?" a man was saying.

Dorothy began to open her eyes and immediately closed them again, she felt a stinging pain.

"Well at least she's conscious, she suffered a rather nasty blow to the skull." The man said.

"Thank goodness she's alright, thank you doctor Maxwell." Came auntie em's voice

Dorothy finally opened her eyes, the pain felt terrible but she winced and tried to bear it. She saw that Ellie and Aislynn were standing in the door way with her aunt and uncle. Ellie was holding the scepter.

"You are a very lucky girl miss gale." Doctor Maxwell said walking over to her and shining a light in her eyes.

"What happened?" Dorothy asked placing her hand on her forehead.

"You were brought here after the storm by some man, we found that you had been hit in the head with a fence post, the man left you with that thing that your friend is carrying." He said referring to Ellie.

"Did he leave a name? Or a phone number?" Aislynn asked timidly.

"no miss Diggs he did not, he just left her here with a note, luckily they were able to get power back up and running here as quickly as they did, I'm sorry about your farm house though Mr. and Mrs. gale, how long until they can fix it?" He asked.

"Right now, we don't know, we left Toto with one of Dorothy's friends, and then we came straight here, it's much more damage than last time." Uncle Henry said

"How long have I been out?" Dorothy asked a bit concerned.

"Almost three days Miss Gale, like I said, you're lucky that stranger brought you here when he did." Doctor Maxwell said grabbing Dorothy's chin and holding her mouth open and shining a light down it.

"Any damage besides the concussion?" Ellie asked.

"Now that she's finally awake, well she's most likely out of danger, but I'd like to keep her here over night just to be sure." Doctor Maxwell said getting up and walking over to them.

"That's fine, but do call us if anything happens, also her friends may drop by please show them to here." Auntie Em said looking worried.

Aislynn then came over and handed Dorothy a large notebook.

"What's this for?" Dorothy asked looking at Aislynn smiling.

"It's to write stuff down in in case you get bored." Aislynn said.

Dorothy smiled and Aislynn leaned up and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks Ace, Ellie leave that here." Dorothy said referring to the scepter.

Ellie nodded and walked over she leaned the scepter against the bed. She then took Aislynn's hand and walked out. Aunt Em and uncle henry smiled and assured Dorothy they would be back tomorrow. Dorothy smiled as they walked out followed by the doctor. She smiled and closed her eyes again. Eventually she was asleep again.

"Miss gale?" came the voice of Doctor Maxwell.

Dorothy's eyes snapped open, she looked at him.

"Yes?" Dorothy asked.

"You have a visitor." He replied.

Dorothy looked out the window, it was dark out. Who would be visiting at such an hour?

"Let them in." Dorothy said.

"Okay miss gale." Doctor Maxwell said, "Oh and by the way, it's four in the morning, that's why we're allowing visitors." He added walking out.

Dorothy sat up and looked at the doorway, Glinda walked into it carrying two bags, one made of Paper and the other made out of a shiny laminated paper.

"Dorothy Gale, that was a very foolish thing that you did." Came the voice of the china princess from the plain paper bag.

Glinda waved her hand and the door shut behind them. She then set down the paper bag on the table and the china princess pushed the bag down.

"Dorothy, the princess is right." Glinda said.

"Please don't scold me, you know what I did what I did, I wish I knew who brought be here though." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, that was still very foolish of you." The princess repeated.

"I know but… hey wait a minute how can you be here?" Dorothy asked looking at the china princess.

"Special spell, Glinda is doing something that I don't quite understand." The princess replied.

Glinda then handed Dorothy the laminated bag. She looked in and found the pink crystal orb, and a red dress.

"Thanks Glinda, but how did you get this?" Dorothy asked.

"It returned to me when you fell unconscious in front of the tornado." Glinda said.

"Oh." Was the only thing she could say?

"And the dress is from your closet in the emerald city, but the doctor says you can grab your stuff in the lobby." The china princess replied

"Thanks, but you guys should really go, if I know my aunt and uncle well enough they'll be running in as soon as the clock strikes five, or six at the latest." Dorothy said pushing herself up into a sitting position her head began to throb and her vision blurred.

The scepter then began to glow, a light enveloped Dorothy. Her head stopped throbbing and her vision cleared completely. Dorothy looked at Glinda who smiled.

"Feeling better?" Glinda asked chuckling.

"Yes, but how?" she asked looking at the scepter in surprise.

"The scepters orb, crafted specially for it by me, and I made it so that it would work to your needs, it's healed you of all injury." Glinda said picking up the scepter and handing it to Dorothy.

"Glinda it seems to have a better idea of what I want than I do." Dorothy said.

"It will do that, you'll figure it out eventually though." Glinda said.

"But can't you…" Dorothy said before the clock in the room struck five and there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Gale you have some more visitors, Mr. Alistair and his nieces, shall I let them in?" came the voice of Doctor Maxwell.

"Yes, please." Dorothy said.

Glinda waved her hand and the door opened, Mr. Alistair, Donna and Kelly all walked in carrying flowers. Glinda waved her hand again and the door shut and locked. Mr. Alistair went completely white making Dorothy laugh.

"Right, introductions, Kelly come over here please." Dorothy said

Kelly nodded and walked over, admiring the china princess who remained completely still, not even blinking with the strangers in the room.

"Kelly, this is Glinda, the good witch of the north." Dorothy said gesturing to Glinda.

Kelly giggled and waved.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kelly, and you must be Donna, Ellie told me about you." Glinda said looking over to Donna.

"Pleasure to meet you mam." Donna said curtseying.

"I'm not sure if I can take much more of this." Mr. Alistair said placing his hand over his eyes and leaning against the door.

"You'll get used to it." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I think one more introduction might put him in the room next to you." Glinda said waving her hand.

A chair moved over to Mr. Alistair who thanked her and sat down.

"Donna, Kelly, this is the dainty China princess." Dorothy said referring to the china princess who was on the table still.

"Pleasure to meet you both." The china princess said.

Mr. Alistair let out a groan and fainted. This made Donna and Kelly laugh. Donna regained her composure and curtsied again.

"Pleasure to meet you your majesty, but aren't you married? Shouldn't you be called china queen?" Donna asked, Kelly looked at her curiously.

"I've been called the Dainty China princess my entire life, yes I'm technically a queen but that's not going to stop me from using my favorite name." she said.

Kelly nodded and walked behind Glinda, seeming a bit intimidated by the fragile ruler. This made them all chuckle a bit.

"Dorothy, your aunt and uncle, and your friends are staying with us, oh and Toto too, because your farm was badly damaged in the twister, surprisingly though your wardrobes remained intact and unharmed so those were dragged to our house yesterday." Donna said.

This made Dorothy rather upset. Judging by the words that Donna had used she could only assume the farmhouse was in worse condition than last time. Just then the room began to shake. The china princess jumped off the table and onto the bed with Dorothy holding on tightly. The scepter glowed brightly as Dorothy closed her eyes and tightened her grasp. The shaking subsided and the door unlocked and opened. Doctor Maxwell then came into the room, saw what was going on and walked out.

"We're okay if that's what you were wondering." Donna said.

"Was that an earth quake?" the china princess asked as Mr. Alistair began to come too.

"Ugh, I said I couldn't take much more of this." He said.

"Uncle, you should probably run home and see if mom and dad, and the others are okay." Donna said

Mr. Alistair nodded and got up, running away as quickly as he could. Doctor Maxwell then walked in followed by a nurse. Doctor Maxwell was carrying a large cardboard box.

"Your aunt and uncle just called, they'll be here in an hour to pick you up, and I told them I'd make sure you were ready for their arrival." He said setting down the cardboard box on her lap.

"Doctor Maxwell, may I remind you that our hospitals policy is no more than two visitors at a time? And correct me if I'm wrong but there are three people in here." The nurse said.

"Miss Gale is an exception to this rule." Doctor Maxwell said.

Glinda picked up the china princess and smiled. Doctor Maxwell examined Dorothy a second time with help of the nurse and then decided she had a clean bill of health he sent the nurse away.

"So, after I change and my aunt and uncle show up I'm free to go?" Dorothy asked.

"That is correct." Doctor Maxwell said walking out of the room.

Dorothy got off the bed and went into the box. She pulled out her boots and dress which were now completely clean. She asked her friends to leave while she changed. After all this was accomplished Dorothy picked up her boots and pulled them on. She then called her friends back in, as they came in they turned at the sound of barking. Toto then ran into the room followed by the nurse.

"Beg pardon Miss Gale but we do have strict no pets policy." The nurse said.

"Nurse Majors!" came the voice of Doctor Maxwell.

"Yes doctor Maxwell?" she asked.

"That's Dorothy's dog right?" Doctor Maxwell asked.

"I guess so, why?" she asked again.

"Toto is perfectly welcome in this hospital, and Miss gale, please reconsider the offer to use Toto as a therapy dog." Doctor Maxwell said walking in now carrying clipboard which he shoved into the nurse's hands.

"Doctor Maxwell I said I'd think about it, but Toto and I are perfectly content with our current lives." Dorothy said.

"Well, okay then, just continue to think about it." He said

"I will, and is the nurse new?" Dorothy asked.

"Relative recent, been here a month." He said.

"Oh." Dorothy said picking up the scepter.

"Well I think I should be off." Glinda said.

"Thanks for coming Miss Upland." Dorothy said.

Glinda smiled and walked out carrying the china princess who briefly winked at her. Dorothy then picked up Toto and walked over to Kelly.

"Hi Toto." Kelly said weakly.

Toto barked and licked her on the face, making them all laugh.

"Perhaps I may have to take you up on the offer at some point doctor Maxwell." Dorothy said.

"I hope so, we'd pay you two a rather nice salary for it." He said as uncle henry and aunt Em walked in.

"Doctor Maxwell, trying to get Dorothy to allow you to use Toto as a therapy dog again?" Auntie Em asked.

"She said she may have to take me up on the offer this time." Doctor Maxwell said chuckling.

"Can you at least get us a contract to look through first?" Uncle Henry asked.

"Come back tomorrow, I should be able to have the secretary type one up by then." He replied.

"You better, I want to know what our niece is getting herself into this time." Henry replied chuckling.

"I'm not even going to question what you mean by that." The doctor said walking out.

They all chuckled at this for a minute then auntie Em turned to Dorothy and smiled.

"We saw Glinda on her way out, what was she doing here, and with a china doll none the less?" auntie Em asked curiously.

"That was the china princess auntie Em, and they were here scolding me for the most part." Dorothy said.

"Oh, good, saves us the trouble of having to do it ourselves" Auntie Em said sternly.

"Auntie Em." Dorothy said moaning

"Em's right Dorothy, what you did was foolish." Henry said.

"Thanks uncle henry, thanks so much." Dorothy said sarcastically.

"Dorothy, please promise use you'll never do something that foolish again." Auntie Em said.

"Auntie Em with the jester out there you know I can't make that promise it's me he wants." Dorothy said setting down Toto, grabbing the bag and the note book and walking out of the room.

Running out of the hospital she gasped at what she was met with. The damage was most definitely worse than last time. Charred remnants of things that had been struck by the lightning. Some buildings were completely gone. She ran in the direction of the farmhouse, Toto running after her. She was definitely upset by this and she knew the farmhouse was probably in poor condition.

"Dorothy!? Where are you going?" came the voice of Ellie from behind her.

Dorothy looked back and saw Ellie running after her, she was catching up. Dorothy tightened her grasp on the scepter which began to glow. After a few minutes Dorothy found herself standing in front of the ruins of the farmhouse. When she saw it she gasped. Half of it was torn almost completely away. She slowly approached it as Ellie ran up to the end of the driveway panting. Dorothy walked in the location of where her bedroom had been. She was able to access it easily because most of the house had been torn away. She began to feel anger towards the jester for causing this, she felt fire welling up inside her.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked walking up to her slowly.

The sheriff's truck then drove up and Dorothy's aunt and uncle, and Aislynn emerged from it. Aislynn walked over to Dorothy and tried to hug her, but Dorothy pushed her away. She felt the anger over taking her. The scepter began to glow even brighter. The smoke in the middle of the orb turned red and Dorothy screamed. A burst of energy erupted from the orb. Ellie and Aislynn were thrown to the ground, as were her aunt and uncle. She began to feel dizzy again, Toto barked at her, and she felt herself lurch forward. She then blacked out as she felt herself fall to the ground.


	13. Anger, sadness, regret

**Disclaimer I don't own the films, franchises, Etc.**

"Dorothy?" came the voice of auntie Em.

Dorothy tried to open her eyes and her head began pounding again. She tried to sit up but found herself being pushed back down.

"Easy kiddo, you need to relax." The scarecrow said.

"What happened?" Dorothy asked opening her eyes a bit and squinted.

"The scepter released a large burst of energy, we don't know why though." Alison said.

"What!?" Dorothy yelled sitting up abruptly and her head began to pound again.

"I told you she'd take it well." The china Princess said as the scarecrow pushed Dorothy back down.

"Dorothy, you need to calm down, drink this." Elena said tipping Dorothy's head back and holding a glass to her lips.

Dorothy drank for a bit, it tasted terrible but familiar. She then began to feel drowsy, she eventually fell asleep again. When this was done and everyone knew she was sound asleep the scarecrow got off the bed and approached Dorothy's aunt.

"Mrs. Gale, you should probably go and check on the girls, see if they're alright, according to Glinda being closest to the release of energy makes them most likely to be damaged." The scarecrow said.

"Yes your majesty, also could you have Glinda contact Henry." Em asked curiously.

"Yes Mrs. Gale, sure thing." The scarecrow said saluting.

Aunt Em saluted back and smiled, she then ran out of the room. The scarecrow then looked at the china princess worriedly.

"What do you think happened to her?" she asked.

"According to Glinda, she got angry, and she lost control, the scepters magic couldn't contain it and well you see the results." Alison said.

"Mrs. Gale mentioned something about a stranger apparently bringing her to the hospital, I'd like to shake his hand." The scarecrow said.

Sitting back down on the bed he stroked his gloved hand through her hair. He sighed.

"What would make her do something so reckless?" Elena asked getting up and walking towards the door.

"Who knows? I think she's just trying to find a way to get to the jester." the princess said.

"So, she's just getting desperate?" The scarecrow asked.

"Yea, I think so." Alison said getting up and walking out with Elena.

"That's nice, she's losing control, terrific." The china princess said sarcastically.

"Don't say that." The scarecrow said.

"And why not, it's true isn't it?" the princess asked.

"I know, but we can't have her getting worked up like this." The scarecrow said referring to the scepter which was hovering next to the door.

"Scarecrow you know you can't always protect her." The princess said.

"I know, but I, I feel obligated I guess, she saved me from that pole so many years ago, and I feel obligated to try and return the favor." The scarecrow said sighing.

"Ah, I see, you feel guilty, but what about helping save her from the witch?" The princess asked.

"I had help with that though." The scarecrow said

"Ah, you want a chance to protect her and keep her safe by yourself, I see you have a crush on her." The princess said teasingly.

"NO!" the scarecrow yelled.

"Aha, so you admit it then?" The princess said.

"No, no, and no, completely out of the question." The scarecrow said.

"Oh, why not?" The princess asked reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pendant.

Putting it on she immediately began to grow, when she was large enough she jumped off the table with a nice clinking sound. She then walked towards the door smiling. The scarecrow got up and followed, walking out of the room he sighed and shut the door behind him.

"Your majesty." Came Aislynn's voice.

"Aislynn you should be resting!" the princess said.

"I'm sorry princess but I couldn't I got bored, I…" she started to say before the princess walked over her and placed a hand over her mouth.

"Please don't argue." The princess said removing her hand.

"But I need something to read." Aislynn said.

"Is that all you want?" The princess asked looking at the scarecrow.

She nodded, she then sidestepped around the princess.

"I'll take her to the library." the scarecrow said taking her hand.

Aislynn smiled, she felt a sense of security with him, and she blushed slightly.

"Thank you your majesty." Aislynn said weakly.

"Aislynn, you're friends with Dorothy, and any friend of Dorothy's is a friend of ours, please call me scarecrow." The scarecrow said.

"Yes your… oops, I mean, oh dear." Aislynn said getting all confused and flustered.

The scarecrow chuckled and ruffled her hair making her giggle. It took them a few minutes but they got to the library. The scarecrow pushed open the doors and allowed Aislynn to walk in. she ran in and grabbed several books, as many as should could carry.

"You do have a thirst for knowledge don't you?" the scarecrow said chuckling.

"I love reading, my grandfather promised me that he would get me books whenever he could." Aislynn said.

"I think then… wait did you know your grandfather, the great man that he was gave me my brain?" the scarecrow said walking over to her and taking some books off the stack.

"No, did he really?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"And he gave me a heart." Came the voice of the tin man walking in.

"And me my courage." The lion said following behind and roaring.

"Did he? My grandfather was telling me once that he used to help people." Aislynn said.

"Did he ever, if it weren't for him we wouldn't be who we are today." The scarecrow said.

Aislynn set down the stack of books on a table and walked over to a small couch that was set up in the middle of the room. She then gestured for them to come over. As they did Aislynn asked them a very important question.

"Can you tell me your stories?" Aislynn asked.

They stared at her wide eyed for a moment, then Ellie walked into the library.

"Oh thank goodness you're alright!" she said running over to Aislynn.

"Ellie I'm fine, I was just asking if I could hear their stories about how my grandfather helped them." Aislynn said as Ellie ran over and hugged her.

"Aislynn I could have told you that, everyone knows the story of how the scarecrow came to power, and how Dorothy vanquished the witch." Ellie said.

"But no one can really recount it better than the people who were there right?" Aislynn asked.

"Okay, I can't argue with you there but you should ask Dorothy." Ellie said.

"But she's asleep." Aislynn said groaning.

"Aislynn, you should learn that not everything is going to come right away." Ellie said sighing.

"I know, but, oh, oh bother." Aislynn said pouting.

"Now Ellie, even you know that wasn't a very nice thing to do." The tin man said in a scolding tone.

"I know, I'm sorry tin man." Ellie said hanging her head in shame.

"Tin man, Lion." The scarecrow said.

"Yes sir?" the lion said.

"Yes bud?" the tin man added.

"Go check on Dorothy, get Elena and Alison, if they say it's okay move her back to her normal room, her key should be around her neck, if not, well I don't know I'll think of something." The scarecrow said.

The two of them saluted, the scarecrow sat down next to Aislynn, he picked up one of the books and began to look through it. He flipped through the pages with immense speed, his eyes practically whizzed in their sockets. Aislynn gasped and her mouth fell open. Ellie laughed at this.

"What's so funny?" the scarecrow asked stopping to look away from the book.

"It's Aislynn's reaction to your 'Speed Reading' and it's funny." Ellie said stopping herself.

"Oh, heh, I just get carried away, this marvelous brain of mine allows me to read at phenomenal speeds, it's completely astounding." The scarecrow said.

"Agh, big words." Ellie said.

This made Aislynn giggle, she then got up and kissed the scarecrow on the cheek. This made him physically blush making Ellie chuckle.

"I didn't know you could blush." Ellie said giggling.

"He did when I kissed him last." Dorothy said running in and embracing them.

Tears began to well up in Dorothy's eyes, she was glad her friends weren't hurt. The scarecrow then got up and grabbed her hand.

"Dorothy! You need to rest!" He said in a scolding manner.

"I know, but, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry." Dorothy said.

Ellie got up and hugged Dorothy tightly, the scepter then flew into the room followed by Toto. Making Aislynn giggle.

"Dorothy, we know what you're feeling." Aislynn said.

"But this is the second time my home has been destroyed, and this time I'm sure it's broken beyond repair." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy dear, please, go get some rest." Came Glinda's voice from behind them all.

"Glinda! I, I-I, yes Miss Glinda." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter and walking out of the library.

"Ellie, you should got get some rest as well, and remember sister knows best." Glinda said walking over to Aislynn.

"And what about me?" Aislynn asked ready to be scolded again.

"Dear, I'm not going to scold you this time, but please listen to the china princess when she tells you to do something." Glinda said kissing Aislynn on the forehead.

"But Glinda…" Aislynn groaned.

"No buts young lady, while Dorothy is unable to watch you Ellie and I become in charge." Glinda said in a usually stern tone.

Aislynn began to tear up, she then got up again and ran out of the room running after Dorothy. Crying rather loudly.

"Now sis, what did you go and do that for?" Ellie asked.

Glinda looked at her sister and sighed.

"I'm sorry Ellie, I guess I'm a little on edge with the jester pretty much destroying both our worlds at the moment." Glinda said turning around to run after Aislynn.

"Yes well you did a good job at upsetting her." The scarecrow said in a scolding tone.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that." Glinda said running out of the library.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes. The scarecrow side and walked back to the couch. He picked up another book and began reading through it as quickly as possible. In about ten minutes he had made it through two smaller books and half way through a rather large and heavy one. Ellie giggled and sat down on the couch. She soon found herself falling asleep. The scarecrow sighed and got up, he walked out of the library to be met with the china princess.

"Glinda said she'll be sending them home again in a few hours." She said.

"Tell her no, I don't think they should return there, especially with what the jester has done to her home." The scarecrow said.

"Your majesty, Dorothy technically has a job, you know that." She said.

"It's not just Dorothy I'm worried about its Aislynn, she's so young, I don't want to see her get hurt." He replied looking at his own reflection in the mirror across from him.

He saw himself, the look of concern and pity on his face. he wished there was something more he could do, but at the time being he couldn't enter Dorothy's world without a lot of help.

"I want them to remain here, until we can find the jester." the scarecrow said as the Tin man and the lion walked up behind him.

"Buddy, you know that's never going to be able to happen." The tin man said calmly.

"Metal mouth here is right, you know that we aren't going to find the jester before he finds AND captures us, and then them." The lion said.

"I know, but…" the scarecrow started to say, but he hung his head in defeat.

He looked at his friends and then back in the mirror, he straightened his hat and walked towards his private suite.

"I feel sorry for him sometimes." The lion said watching as the scarecrow walked off.

"I know, sometimes so do it, it's just, you know, depressing to see him like this." The tin man said in a sad tone.

"I mean, he locked him self in his private suite for an entire day when he found out Dorothy had gotten herself knocked unconscious and was practically comatose." The princess said.

"I know, we were all there, remember Glinda said that Ellie cried most of the time Dorothy was in the hospital." The lion said.

"I know, Ellie loves Dorothy like she loves Glinda, maybe even more." The princess replied.

"Oh." The lion said jumping as Toto came up behind them and barked.

"What is it boy?" the tin man asked.

Toto barked and led them in the direction of Dorothy's room. when they all got there the tin man tried to open the door only to find it locked, Aislynn was sitting outside it as well, and she was still crying.

"Ace? Whats wrong?" The princess asked, "I know Glinda scolded you but you're crying about something else." She added.

"Dorothy, she's locked me out, she wont let me in, keeps telling me to go away." She said through sobs.

"Ace, Dorothy has been through a lot, more than you could ever imagine." The tin man said getting down on one knee in order to make eye contact with the child.

Aislynn didn't even respond, she looked up at them and wiped the tears from her face. Toto then walked up to her and licked her on the face. this made her giggle a bit, the Ellie walked up and knelt down in front of her.

"Hey Aislynn, why don't we go get some ice cream?" Ellie said trying to sound happy.

"No thanks Ellie, im not really hungry." Aislynn said.

"Ellie Dorothy has locked everyone out of her room." The lion said.

Just then a shattering sound came from inside of the room making them all jump.

"I think she just threw something." The china princess said, "And something made out of ceramic." She added.

"How do you know that?" Ellie asked looking at her.

"I'm made of china, or porcelain if you prefer." The china princess said.

"Oh, right." Ellie said.

"Ellie do you have a key to Dorothy's room by any chance?" The tin man asked.

"No, but if you all move, I think I can get her to open the door." Ellie said.

Aislynn nodded and got up, carrying Toto in her arms. Ellie then shooed them all away and knocked on the door.

"Go away!" came Dorothy's voice.

"Dorothy, please, I know you're upset, but please open the door, and let me in and perhaps we can do this together." Ellie said in a hopeful tone.

They stood there in silence for a minute. Ellie then heard the lock click. The door opened and Dorothy grabbed her hand and pulled her in. she then tried to shut the door again but Ellie grabbed her wrist and held it tightly.

"Ellie let go." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, you really upset Aislynn." Ellie said.

"I've been upsetting a lot of people lately." Dorothy said looking at Ellie so that she could see her face.

Dorothy had been crying, her face was stained with tears. She pulled herself out of Ellie's grasp and walked over to her bed. Sitting down on it she picked up the scepter.

"Dorothy, please, just apologize to Aislynn." Ellie said.

"Ellie, please, if you're not going to try and comfort me at the moment please just, just go." Dorothy said rummaging through her pockets and taking out the hair ribbon with the keys on it.

She untied the ribbon and took off the key to the unknown room of the emerald city. She then tossed it to Ellie who caught it with ease.

"Try to find out what room that goes to, ask the scarecrow maybe he knows." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, the scarecrow is upset at the moment as well, I passed by him on my way here." Ellie said.

Dorothy laid back down on her bed and covered her face with a pillow, she was upsetting everyone at this point or at least it felt like it. To her she was becoming a burden to everyone, she pulled the pillow off her face and got up. she then ran out of the room as quickly as she could. This time Ellie didn't go after her. She knew Dorothy just needed to vent her anger.

**it is a good idea to note at this point that anyone who has read another adventure or return of an old enemy knows where Dorothy probably is going. Anyways for those of you who leave guest reviews. If you have an account use it, don't be shy.**


	14. The first memories

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises etc.**

Dorothy ran out of the emerald city. Holding the scepter tightly in her grasp. She ran to the docks and onto Tugg. He greeted her in his usual cheery disposition.

"Ah, Dorothy gale, where to today?" Tugg asked curiously.

"The clearing Tugg, please, just don't ask more questions." Dorothy said.

Tugg lifted his anchor and started up the river. As soon as they got there Dorothy looked at Tugg with tears in her eyes.

"Tugg, please leave me here, I'll find my own way back to the city." Dorothy said trying to hold back more tears.

"But Miss Dorothy…" Tugg began to say when he realized Dorothy really didn't want an argument.

"Just go." She said disembarking.

Tugg looked at her sadly and turned around. Dorothy watched to make sure he left completely out of sight and went to the middle of the clearing. She then set the scepter against a tree and it went dark. She sat down and pulled off her boots, hugging her legs to her chest and tucking her head in the gap between her knees and her chest and began to cry. She thought about the jester, with a large amount of hatred and anger, she wanted to go after him. But her main problem had once again compounded itself. And that was that she had no idea where he was, let alone how she was going to stop him. She knew she'd never be able to kill him, not on purpose anyways. She knew how ever in the back of her mind that in the end, to stop him completely she would either have to kill him or die trying. She then picked her head up and crossed her legs. She got into more of a meditative position and closed her eyes. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pink orb. She felt calm and tranquility pass over her, she wished she had used the orb before she caused the problems, before she snapped at Tugg. She once again began to feel regret, sorry for what she had said and done. She sighed, got up and grabbed her boots. She then felt something shift in her pocket, something she know she didn't put in there herself.

"What the?" she asked herself rummaging in her pocket, her hand felt something that felt as though it were made of metal.

As she pulled it out she found that it was a locket, not like the one she had gotten in the past though. This one was a light silver. As she forced it open she gasped at what she saw. It was a picture of her parents on one side. And on the other, a small version of that oil painting that her friends had made for her. A tear dripped onto it, she then closed it and hung it from her neck. She then thought about her parents. Would they have wanted her to do this? She didn't know, they told her once to do what she thought was right. But would they support her decision to kill? She didn't know at this point, she didn't get a chance to know her parents that well. She spent most of her life raised by her aunt and life with her aunt and uncle since her parent's death. She tried to shut the memories out because whenever she thought about them she felt pain and she was beginning to feel it now. She remembered the night she saw her mother die in front of her, she was sick, fatally ill and the memory was beginning to play back in her head.

"_Dorothy promise momma one thing." Dorothy's mother asked of her._

"_Anything momma." Dorothy said through tears._

"_Promise me, that you'll be a good girl, listen to your aunt and uncle, and promise me, that you'll help anyone in any way you can." She said._

"_Momma, please, don't die, without you and poppa, I'll be alone." Dorothy said starting to cry._

"_Dorothy, please, remember darling, and hold this with you, you are never alone." She said coughing slightly and closing her eyes._

Dorothy remembered watching her mother's eyes for the last time. She began to cry again. Her father had gone in a similar way. She never knew how but something seemed to keep her from falling that ill. And this made her cry a bit more. Dorothy walked over to the scepter and picked it up.

"But where would you be today if they hadn't died?" Dorothy asked herself.

She knew that she'd most likely would never have met all of her friends. She would never have come to oz. and she knew this for a fact. This thought, this one simple thought, gave her a new sense of closure. She knew, she now knew what her parents meant with those four words. Her friends, her aunt and uncle, even Toto kept her from being alone in this world and her own world. She wondered though, did any of their advice prepare her for a force this great?

"No, of course not, what parent would raise their kid to grow up and expect their kid to slay witches and fight a wicked jester? No one." Dorothy said asking and answering her own question.

She held the scepter tightly in her grasp. She was about to turn around and walk towards the emerald city when she felt someone embrace her from behind. She turned around to see Ellie and Glinda behind her. Both of them smiling.

"I see you found your aunts little present from all of us to you." Glinda said referring to the locket.

"Auntie Em made this for me?" Dorothy asked.

"Sort of, she commissioned for it to be crafted and gave us the picture, the oil painting is just a smaller version we have hanging in the hall." Ellie said.

"Glinda, Ellie, I don't know what to say." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, you don't have to say anything." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and taking her chin in her hands.

Dorothy smiled, she began to tear up again.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked.

"Yes?" Dorothy asked.

"Why are you starting to cry again?" Ellie asked.

"I'm not, I'm just remembering." Dorothy replied smiling.

"What are you remembering?" Ellie and Glinda asked.

"My parents, it's been so long since I really thought about them, I remember my mom's death, and her final words to me." Dorothy said.

"What were they?" Ellie asked.

"They were _'you are never alone' _and she was right." Dorothy said.

"People may leave you, but always remember there are always people who will be by your side." Glinda said kissing Dorothy's forehead.

"Thanks Glinda." Dorothy said smiling.

Dorothy hugged Ellie and broke from the embrace. She then hugged Glinda tightly. Glinda returned the warm embrace the way she always did. Dorothy broke from the embrace and smiled. Ellie grabbed the crystal orb and the boots from Dorothy.

"I think I'll carry these for you." Ellie said.

"Thanks Ellie." Dorothy said.

"Come on, let's go back to the emerald city." Ellie said.

Dorothy and Glinda both nodded. Glinda then waved her wand and Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. She didn't feel dizzy this time though, which surprised her when her feet made contact with the floor of the chambers.

"Dorothy, are you ready to return to Kansas?" Auntie Em asked holding Aislynn's hand.

Toto was on the ground sitting next to auntie Em. Dorothy smiled at him. Dorothy reached around her neck and pulled off the hair ribbon from around her neck, Ellie handed her back the key, Dorothy in turn handed Ellie her room key.

"Ellie have scarecrow make a copy of that key, you can access my room at any time, unless you want to come back with us first." Dorothy said.

Ellie handed the key to the scarecrow and walked over to Dorothy and took her hand. She smiled and hugged Dorothy tightly.

"So, you want to come with us?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, I'll never leave your side." Ellie said smiling.

Dorothy returned the embraced and grabbed her boots from Ellie. She then handed them to Auntie Em and picked up Toto. She then looked at Glinda and nodded. Glinda waved her wand and Dorothy Felt herself lurch forward. She hoped, that for once this time, she'd end up in some place intact, and with a bucket

**Okay so, at the end of the last chapter I said, those who make reviews as guests, if they had accounts they should use them. I realize this was rude of me, and someone pointed out that not everyone knows how to make an account. But I like to talk to my reviewers. For example I talk to the reviewer Gotham317 and Ozian1 through PMs which is actually quite fun. **


	15. Back to Kansas

**Disclaimer, I do not own the movies, franchises, Etc.**

When Dorothy's feet made contact which hard wooden floor she immediately put out her arms to keep herself from getting injured. She immediately felt dizzy and sick however.

"Dorothy!" came the voice of Donna from behind her.

Dorothy looked over her shoulder and found Donna running up to her. She turned back around and she found herself being lifted off the floor. She let go of the scepter and it rolled off. She felt a bucket being forced into her hands and a light embrace wrapping around her. She immediately vomited into the bucket. This lasted for a few minutes and left her panting for breath. She then looked at Donna, who smiled and giggled a bit.

"Thanks." Dorothy said weakly.

"No problem." Donna said taking the bucket and walking out.

Dorothy walked over and picked up the scepter she then walked out of the room. She was greeted by her aunt, uncle, Ellie, Aislynn and Toto.

"How is it that I always seem to be greatly affected by these journeys?" she asked them.

"I don't know, my sister didn't explain that to me." Ellie said giggling

Auntie Em then got up and handed Dorothy her boots.

"You're due at the library in less than an hour Dorothy." Auntie Em said hugging her.

Dorothy nodded and quickly pulled out her boots. She then walked over to Aislynn and helped her up. Ellie then got up and they walked out of the house followed by Toto. Dorothy led Aislynn to the library where they found Jessica and Jenny waiting on a bench for her to show up it seemed.

"Jessica! Jenny!" Aislynn said running over to them and hugging them tightly.

"Hello dear, how have you been?" they both asked in unison.

"I've been fine." She replied.

Dorothy walked into the library followed by Toto. Not wanting to spoil the reunion. She was greeted by Mrs. T.

"Hello Dorothy dear, it's good to see you again, the children have been asking when you would return, and what's this that you're carrying with you?" she asked referring to the scepter.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, your usual stool is set up in its usual spot." Mrs. T said.

Dorothy nodded, she walked over to the children's section. Setting the scepter against the stool she sat down and waited for the large group of kids to show up and gather around the stool so she could tell them of her adventures from where she left off. Toto barked once and walked into the children's section. Immediately Dorothy heard kids taking notice that Dorothy was back, they began to swarm like vultures. This made her smile, she knew she would be happy telling the children more of the stories they enjoyed hearing.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Aislynn from the back.

Everyone turned to face her, making her blush.

"Yes Aislynn?" Dorothy asked.

"Can I sit in and listen?" she asked.

"Aislynn you don't even need to ask you can just sit in like the rest of the kids." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Oh." Aislynn said walking to the front row and sitting down.

Dorothy chuckled and began to tell her story where she left off before she fainted. As she got to her second day in the emerald city, she began to notice the kids were distracted by the scepter which was now glowing.

"What?" Dorothy asked looking at it.

"What is that?" one of the kids asked curiously.

"It's not important, yet." Dorothy said trying not to admit it was the scepter from her story.

The kids, luckily this time didn't ask anything more and allowed her to get back to her story. After about a half hour about talking about her second day into her second night in the emerald city, the children began to get bored and started walking off. Aislynn even got up and left to find an interesting book somewhere. Dorothy got up and stretched. Ellie then walked up to her and picked up the scepter. She then handed it to Dorothy. Dorothy thanked her and Toto walked over to Ellie pawed at her shoes. Ellie giggled and sighed, she then sat down and took them off, surrendering them to Toto. Dorothy laughed at this and then walked off to go find Aislynn. She eventually found her in the upstairs section of the library reading through an encyclopedia. Dorothy walked over to her and then a ball of paper fly past her and hit Aislynn.

"Hey!" Dorothy said looking in the direction the ball of paper came from.

"Sorry miss gale, I didn't know she was your friend." Said a familiar sounding voice.

Dorothy walked in the direction of the voice and found a boy that was in her class in school. His name was Alex, and he was a boy that tended to make fun of people who were smarter than him. He was also however, slightly intimidated by the girl standing in front of him. He got up and ran.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked.

"Yes ace?" Dorothy asked

"People have been making fun of me since I picked up the encyclopedia a few minutes ago." Aislynn said starting to tear up.

"Aislynn, don't worry about that, it's just people being complete jerks, you should be glad that you enjoy reading." Dorothy said ruffing aislynn's hair.

"Miss Gale!?" came a voice from behind her.

Dorothy turned around and saw Mrs. T running over to her.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, your aunt is in the hospital." Mrs. T said panting.

Dorothy was shocked she immediately sat down.

"What? How?" Dorothy asked quite concerned

"Your aunt and uncle returned to the farmhouse to see if they could salvage anything, your aunt was struck very hard in the head with a support beam." Mrs. T said.

Dorothy started to tear up, how could her aunt have gotten injured of all things? Why would they return to the house? It was too dangerous and they knew it. Aislynn got up and ran off to find Ellie.

"Dorothy, I know this may be hard for you, but…" Mrs. T started to say before Dorothy cut her off.

Dorothy then got up and ran, she didn't know where she was going this time, she just ran as fast as she could. She felt really upset, she needed a place to cry again. She didn't know where though.

"Dorothy? Miss Gale?" came a familiar sounding voice.

Dorothy looked back and saw Mr. Alistair. She stopped and looked where she was. She had ended up in the school yard. Mr. Alistair was there, waiting for her, along with Donna and Kelly.

"Mr. Alistair." Dorothy said wiping the tears from her face.

"Dorothy, your uncle wants you to come to the hospital." Mr. Alistair said.

Dorothy nodded and tightened her grip around the scepter. Mr. Alistair led Dorothy to the hospital where she was met with Ellie, Aislynn and Toto. Dorothy picked up Toto who licked her face, and she giggled. Dorothy walked in and was met with the receptionist.

"Ah, Miss Gale, your aunt is in the first room on the left." She said pointing down the hall.

Dorothy nodded and walked to the room. Upon entering she gasped. Her aunt was lying down in the hospital bed, unconscious. Dorothy ran over to the bed and knelt down at her aunt's bedside setting down Toto she looked at her uncle.

"The doctor said she may be heavily concussed, we won't know for another hour or so." Uncle Henry said sighing and getting up.

Dorothy began to tear up, she felt anger, and she knew that somehow this was the jester's fault. She got up and tried to run out and immediately ran right into Doctor Maxwell. She fell to the ground dropping the scepter.

"Miss Gale, are you okay?" Doctor Maxwell asked helping her up.

"Not really doctor Maxwell." Dorothy said trying not to cry.

"Ms. Gale. Please don't worry, I'm quite sure your aunt will be fine, but we won't know for an hour or so." He replied.

Dorothy didn't even respond, she just pushed past him and ran out. She ran for what felt like hours, having no idea where she was going to end up. She eventually stopped and looked at her surroundings. She was on the hill not far from the town, she had been there several times to admire the town, she sat down on the hill, setting the scepter down next to her she cried for a bit. She cried until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the sheriff looking at her with a sad look.

"Dorothy? Are you ready to go back?" he asked.

"Not really, could you please bring me to my parents grave?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure, but we should tell your uncle first." He replied.

Dorothy nodded and picked up the scepter. She then took the sheriffs outstretched hand and pulled herself up. Dorothy then walked next to him in silence until they managed to make it back to the main roads of the town. It was getting dark at this point but Dorothy didn't really care, she wanted to go to the grave of her parents. As they walked back towards the hospital Dorothy was immediately ran into by Aislynn.

"Dorothy! Where did you go?" Aislynn asked.

"Aislynn, do you see that large hill over there in the distance?" Dorothy asked pushing Aislynn away from her gently and pointing the scepter in the direction that they came from.

"Yes, is that where you were?" Aislynn asked as Ellie walked up behind her.

"Yes, and if you ever find that you want a place to think or just want some solitude, you have my permission to go there, but tonight, if your maids are still in town, you are to go with them." Dorothy said sternly, yet calmly.

"Yes Dorothy, but why?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Because you need to get a full night's sleep and I probably won't be at the Alistair residence for a while tonight, if at all." Dorothy said kissing Aislynn on the forehead.

Aislynn nodded, not wanting to argue. She turned to Ellie who led her away. Dorothy then walked into the hospital, she was met with Toto, who seemed to have been anticipating her return. She picked him up and he licked her on the nose again, and making her giggle. Dorothy started walking towards the room and immediately ran into Doctor Maxwell again. She fell to the ground dropping both Toto and the scepter.

"You are beginning to make a habit of this." He said chuckling helping her up, "Ah, Officer Gray, how's the missus?" he added referring to the sheriff who had walked in behind her.

"She's keeping me on the diet still Doctor Maxwell." He replied making Dorothy giggle.

"Well that's good, anyways Dorothy I've got some good news." Doctor Maxwell said smiling.

"Oh good, some news I actually want to here." Dorothy said smiling and picking up the scepter.

"I figured as much, anyways, I expect your aunt will make a full recovery, she just needs a lot of rest and constant monitoring." He said.

"That's fantastic, but please, I need to tell my uncle something." Dorothy said excitedly.

"Sure thing, Dorothy, oh and if you do wish to stay here tonight that is okay." He said.

"Thanks doctor Maxwell." Dorothy said smiling and walking to the room followed by Toto.

When she entered the room she found her uncle running his hand through his wife's hair, he then looked at Dorothy and smiled weakly.

"Uncle Henry?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes dear?" he replied.

"I'm going the have the sheriff take me to dad and mom's grave." She said smiling.

"At this hour? Dorothy, it will be completely dark in an hour or two." He said concerned.

"Uncle Henry, please you need to take care of auntie Em while she's in her state." She said, "Besides, I have the scepter, and I'll bring Toto with me, and like I said, the sheriff will also be with me." She added.

"Okay, but try to be back before it gets too late." He said defeated.

"Thanks uncle henry." Dorothy said turning to leave.

"Dorothy." he said quickly.

"Yes uncle henry?" Dorothy asked quickly turning around.

"Your flats are on the table behind the door, if you want to change out of your boots." He said.

Dorothy smiled and looked behind the door. She saw on a small gift table were her silver flats, and a satchel that she kept things she found interesting and useful in. she smiled and grabbed them both. Putting them in the satchel she slung it around her shoulder and picked up Toto. She then walked out followed by the sheriff. And soon she found herself in the sheriff's truck and driving towards her parent's grave.

**Yes, well I finally gave the sheriff a name outside of, the sheriff, also, I am thinking about killing off a character, not sure which, but its not going to be in either main trios, or probably any ozians**


	16. more memories

**Disclaimer, if I do not…. Do I still need to put this here?**

"_Dorothy?" came the voice of frank gale._

"_Yes Poppa?" Dorothy asked running into the room._

"_Dorothy, can you grab me that hammer there and hand it to be dear?" he asked looking at her from the ladder._

_Dorothy obeyed and picked up the hammer, she then handed it to her. _

"_Here you go poppa." Dorothy said handing the hammer to her father._

"_Thanks dear." He said starting to cough._

_He then collapsed to the floor and Dorothy screamed._

"_Momma!" Dorothy cried._

"_Dorothy? What's wrong?" She asked running in._

"_Something's wrong with poppa." Dorothy cried._

"Dorothy? Dorothy?" Officer Gray said snapping his fingers in front of her.

Dorothy was snapped out of thought, the memory faded. She shook her head like a dog trying to dry off. She then looked at him.

"Yes?" Dorothy asked in a bit of a daze.

"We're there, if you'd like I'll wait out here while you and Toto go to the grave." He said warmly.

Dorothy nodded and got out of the truck, picked up the scepter, and opened the back door so Toto could get out. Dorothy then led Toto into the graveyard. The sun had almost completely set giving the graveyard a rather eerie look. As she and Toto got closer to the grave, Dorothy noticed that there were several things of flowers left at the foot of the grave's angel statue.

"Strange, who left these here?" Dorothy asked walking over and picking up one of the bouquets.

Sniffing the flowers, she found that they were not that which were common here in Kansas. And yet she had smelt them before. Setting them down her knelt at the foot of the statue.

"Mom, Dad, what am I going to do, I'm not a killer, and yet in the end it will be that man and me, and one of us must die in the end, what am I going to do?" she asked beginning to cry

"Whatever you think is right?" came a voice from behind her.

Dorothy gasped and turned around, she was met with jester, standing there, with a bouquet of flowers. She eyed him angrily.

"You know if looks could kill, well id be more than just dead by now." He said chuckling and walking over to the grave, dropping the bouquet at the foot of the angel statue.

"Why are you leaving flowers at my parents' grave?" she asked wiping tears from her face.

"Believe it or not, I do have a sense of pity, and I'm sorry for you loss, though it was so long for you now." He said ruffling her hair.

She was stumped by this, why was he being nice? Let alone to her of all people? She tightened her grasp on the scepter which began to glow again.

"Why are you being nice to me though? Aren't you supposed to be trying to destroy me?" She asked in a frightened tone.

"Because, in a war there are civil conversations and meeting are there not?" He asked.

"So? Anyways, you already caused me and my family enough trouble." She said starting to tear up.

"Actually no, your aunts injury was not my work, that was completely and entirely fate, if I could take credit for it though, I would." He said

Toto then barked at him loudly, he growled at him and he shrunk back in fright.

"Anyways, getting rid of your family isn't part of my master plan." He continued.

"And what is this master plan?" she asked.

"It's not complete yet, but soon, soon I'll be ready to unveil my master plan." he said chuckling.

"Dorothy? I heard Toto barking, is everything okay?" Came the voice of the sheriff.

The jester looked at Dorothy and smiled, he knelt down so that she could be at eye level with the child.

"In fairness, this game could go on for a long time, because soon to me, is not so soon to you, I could spring out at any time, and at any place, while you're at home, with friends, with that girl you're in custody of, even while you are in school or in oz." he said chuckling, he then vanished.

It was then that the sheriff showed up, she got up and smiled, she knew the jester was tricky like that, and she didn't need him to warn her. But she wasn't going to mention this to the sheriff or anyone, she knew she couldn't for her own safety, and for everyone else's.

"Dorothy?" the sheriff asked.

Dorothy got up and looked at him.

"I'm fine officer gray, Toto just got spooked by something." She said giggling.

He chuckled and walked over to her.

"Well, it's getting late, let's go… who left all these flowers here?" he asked looking at the grave

"I assume some old friends." She said smiling a bit.

"I guess so, your parents were great people." He said.

"I've been told that." Dorothy said sitting on the ground and rummaging through her satchel, she then pulled out the flats.

After pulling off her boots and sliding on the flats she got up and picked up the boots, handing them to officer grey she knelt down and picked up Toto. They then both walked back to the truck. As soon as they were back on the road heading towards the town Dorothy felt herself getting drowsy. She stretched and leaned back in the seat. And eventually she was asleep. She awoke a few hours later to find herself alone in the truck, the scepter glowing on the seats behind her. Toto was curled up comfortably next to it. She soon realized she was also wrapped in a nice hand sewn quilt. She got up and stretched to grab the scepter.

"Guess he didn't want to wake me, nice guy and all but." Dorothy said realizing that the truck was parked outside of the sheriff's department, "Well at least it's only a few blocks away from the hospital and I can at least walk there." She added stretching and nudging Toto a bit with the end of the scepter.

He stirred then barked a few times in confusion. He then realized he was being woken up for a reason and stopped.

"Come on Toto, let's go thank the sheriff for driving us." Dorothy said opening the door and jumping out, then opening up the other door and letting Toto out.

She then walked into the sheriff's department and found her satchel hanging from a hat stand next to sheriff's hat. She also noticed her boots on the ground next to the stand. She walked into the office to find the sheriff going over some papers. He looked up and smiled, he then gestured for Dorothy to sit down on an armchair on the other side of the office, the sight of it made her giggle and yawn at the same time.

"Why do you keep an armchair, of all things, in your office?" she asked curiously

"My wife insists that I relax every now and again, she says this job is extremely stressful on me." He said chuckling.

"Well then." She said walking over.

"Oh, and I talked to your uncle, he said it would be okay if you wanted to stay here for the night, if not I can drive you to the hospital, it's not safe at this time of night." He said looking at the large wall clock on the other side of the room.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I want to go to the hospital, I think my uncle needs to rest." Dorothy said tiredly.

"That sounds good." He said getting up.

The all walked out of the office and Toto barked a few times. Dorothy smiled and picked him up. He then proceeded to lick her on the cheek and then nuzzled into her shoulder like a small child. The sheriff walked over to the hat stand and grabbed his hat, Dorothy's satchel, and her boots. He then walked over to her and admired the scepter which was now glowing again. Soon Dorothy found herself sitting back down in the sheriff's truck, and soon they were on the two minute drive in the direction of the hospital.

"Would you mind waiting for my uncle henry? You can drive him to the Alistair's" she asked curiously.

"Not at all, I'm sure he's exhausted by now, hasn't slept since the tornado I think." He said

"Thanks." She replied.

When they got there Dorothy grabbed all of her things, and Toto, and walked in. she was greeted by the receptionist and Doctor Maxwell. She then went back to the room her aunt was in and found her uncle dozing in a chair. She set the scepter against the wall, put her boots and the satchel down by the door, and walked over to her uncle and shook him awake.

"Uncle Henry, the sheriff is waiting outside to drive you to Mr. Alistair's." Dorothy said.

"Huh? Wha? Oh thanks Dorothy." he said getting up and yawning.

Once he was gone Dorothy slid out of the flats and sat down in the chair uncle henry had been using. Toto jumped up on her lap. She pet him for some time before she heard her aunt moan.

"Agh, my head, what happened?" she asked moaning in pain.

Dorothy Immediately got up and ran to the desk, luckily doctor Maxwell was still there.

"She's awake." Dorothy said

The doctor immediately ran past her and into the room. Dorothy quickly followed. When she got in there she found Doctor Maxwell giving her aunt the same examination that she had been given when she was in the same situation nearly a day ago.

"Well, Mrs. Gale, I am pleased to announce that in the few hours that you have been here, you have started to make a nice and speedy recovery, but just to be sure, I think it'd be a good idea to keep you here a few more days Mrs. Gale" he said after a while.

Toto then ran over and jumped up on the bed. Auntie Em chuckled and smiled. She scratched him behind the ears and he licked her on the face.

"Dorothy, you should go get some rest." Auntie Em said weakly.

"Auntie Em, Uncle Henry needed more rest than I did, he stayed here all day with you." She replied.

"And in the end you took over for him?" Auntie Em asked.

"Yes Auntie Em." Dorothy said smiling.

"Dorothy, I agree with your aunt you should get some more rest, it's about three in the morning." Doctor Maxwell said, "And please put some shoes on." He added.

"Doctor Maxwell, Dorothy tends to be accustomed to going barefoot sometimes." Auntie Em said.

"Fair enough, but a hospital is not the best place to be barefoot." Doctor Maxwell said.

Dorothy sighed and slid her feet into the flats and sat back down in the chair she had been using. Toto then jumped off of auntie Em and onto Dorothy's lap.

"And, Dorothy, please, don't worry." Auntie Em said lying back down.

Doctor Maxwell then got up and walked out of the room without saying a word. Toto jumped off Dorothy's lap and walked over to the door. He then pushed his head against the door and started to shut it. Dorothy quickly got up and stopped him from pushing it the rest of the way. She then picked up the scepter again and walked back to the chair. She started to think about her parents again. She began to tear up. She then looked at her aunt and sighed, she was asleep again. Dorothy soon began to feel drowsy again. And soon once more she was asleep


	17. The next day

**Disclaimer, I do not own the movies, franchises, etc.**

Dorothy awoke several hours later to find her uncle standing in the door way. He was smiling which was a good sign. She yawned and stretched, she looked around the room to see Toto waiting for her to waken. She smiled and picked him up, she then picked up the scepter.

"Dorothy, I'm glad you're awake, Ellie and Aislynn are waiting for you at the park in the middle of town" Uncle Henry said walking over.

Toto barked happily, he definitely wanted to see their friends, and he definitely wanted to go to the park.

"I knew he'd be happy to hear that." Uncle Henry said chuckling.

Dorothy giggled and got up, sliding into her flats and grabbing the scepter. She then walked past her uncle followed by Toto at her heels. When she got out of the hospital she walked in the direction of the park, she had been there for several picnics and she played with Toto there extremely often. It was just a normal park, with a garden, a large field, lots of shady trees, and even several donated benches. She liked it there because it was calm, nice, and there tended to be a lot of people there to chat with. After about twenty minutes of walking she eventually found herself being pulled into a crushing embrace by Ellie and Aislynn.

"Hello Aislynn, morning Ellie" Dorothy said giggling and returning the embrace.

"Dorothy, Aislynn had a nightmare about the jester." Ellie said.

"Did you tell Glinda?" Dorothy asked concerned.

"She said there wasn't anything she could do, Oz is in trouble, and it's losing its magic somehow." Ellie said quite concerned.

"What!?" Dorothy asked dropping the scepter, causing it to flash with a blinding white light.

Dorothy blinked and shook her head a few times while both Aislynn and Ellie rubbed their eyes. Soon they had recovered from being in a daze, they all chuckled at this, and Dorothy picked up scepter and dusted off the glass orb. She looked around to make sure no one had noticed. Luckily they seemed to be alone in the park at the time being. They all sighed in relief.

"That was a close call, what if someone had seen?" Ellie asked now sounding concerned.

"I don't know about you two but I would have hid in that tree over there." Aislynn said giggling.

They all laughed at this for a minute, then they all walked over to one of the benches and sat down on it. Toto barked a few times as if hoping one of them would produce a ball for him to fetch. Ellie chuckled and rummaged through her pockets, she soon produced the usual red ball that she tended to play with when she got bored. She then took it and threw it, they all laughed as Toto ran after it. It was then Dorothy noticed Aislynn looking strangely at something.

"Aislynn? What's wrong?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Am I the only who thinks that that man with the brown top hat over there is spying on us over his paper?" she asked pointing at a bench across the park.

There was indeed a man, and he was indeed wearing a brown colored top hat, and he did indeed seem to be glaring at them from over the folded portion of it. Dorothy waved at him but received no response, if this man was indeed spying on them, 'why?' 'And who for?' Were the main questions that came to her mind as questions she was asking herself? Dorothy looked at Ellie who looked in the direction and then nodded at Dorothy. Toto then returned with the ball.

"I think he is spying on us." Dorothy said concerned.

They looked back at the man, who now got up and folded up his paper. He then turned and walked away from the park. None of them could catch a glimpse of his face. They sat there in silence for a minute before Dorothy noticed that the scepter was beginning to glow brightly. Ellie sighed and picked up Toto. She then grabbed aislynn's hand and Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. She began to feel dizzy and sick after a few seconds of this. Watching the colors whiz by her she wondered what Glinda wanted. She then felt herself make contact with ground and she fell forward into the embrace of the scarecrow.

"Whoa, steady on kiddo, relax." He said.

Dorothy coughed and gasped, she then managed to regain her composure and pulled out of the scarecrow's grasp, and then she turned in the direction of Glinda.

"Is there any way to get me here that won't make me feel like I want to vomit?" She asked curiously.

"Outside of the rainbow mover and another tornado, afraid not." She said.

"Well, the rainbow mover will remain not an option, mostly because I don't think the citizens of Kansas would enjoy seeing a rainbow suck up a young girl." Aislynn said giggling.

"Quite right, sorry Glinda." Dorothy said.

"It's okay my dear child, right now we have bigger problems." Glinda said in a concerning tone.

"Besides the fact that Oz is using it's magic?" Dorothy asked.

"Well, no but, well look." Glinda said moving out of the way to show her the crystal ball.

Dorothy gasped at what she saw. It showed the munchkin city, but it was completely grey, devoid of any color for what looked like miles. The sky was still blue, that hadn't changed much. It made her feel upset to see it in such a state.

"What of the citizen?" Dorothy asked curiously

"Any of them that managed to make it out are okay, those who didn't are pretty much remain there frozen, not stone, just frozen, almost as if in time and space." She said sadly.

"The jester has gone too far." Dorothy said.

"Funny, am I hearing an echo?" came the voice of the china princess.

"Oh, china princess, you said the same thing?" Dorothy asked in response.

"Yes, about an hour or two ago." The princess said walking over to Dorothy.

"That's nice, what are we going to do about it?" she asked

"There isn't anything we can do, my magic can't affect it, and I don't even think I can go there without being affected." Glinda said sadly.

"Sis?" Ellie asked.

"Yes Ellie?" Glinda asked.

"Why would the jester want to do this?" she asked.

"It's part of his quote unquote 'master plan'." Dorothy said

"What makes you say that?" Ellie asked.

"Remember that one time he captured me?" she asked.

"Yes, why?" Ellie responded.

"He told me everything that happened would be part of his master plan." she replied.

"What about your aunt? There's no way, not even with magic, that could cause him to make a specific piece of something fall without bringing down the entire remainder of the house." Came the voice of Alison who was walking in with her nose in her book.

"Well that too." Glinda remarked.

"Well that definitely puts my mind at ease." Aislynn said sarcastically.

They all laughed at this for a minute before Dorothy walked over to the door of the room.

"Um which way is my room from here?" she asked

The scarecrow pulled a key out from his coat pocket and tossed it to.

"Take a left at the end of the hallway." He said.

Dorothy caught the key and nodded.

"Thanks, and Glinda?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes dear?" she responded

"Keep an eye out for the jester, who knows when he may think his game is ready for him to show up." Dorothy said.

Glinda nodded, and Dorothy turned to walk out. She then felt herself being hugged tightly from behind. She turned to see Ellie.

"Keep yourself safe." She whispered.

Dorothy nodded and she felt herself being released. She then walked out of the room with Toto following closely at her heels. She followed the scarecrow's instructions and found herself not far from her room. She recognized the area as the one she had been led through to get to her room during the time of the china princess's wedding. Retracing her steps from there was relatively easy, and after about five minutes of wandering she eventually found herself at her bedroom door. Unlocking it she opened the door and set the scepter down against the wall next to her. She then walked over to the bed and plopped down on it. Sliding off the flats she sighed and lay down.

"Oh Toto, what are we going to do?" Dorothy asked.

Toto barked in a confused tone as if to say 'Why are you asking me?'

"Right, you're a dog, the best you can really do is bite the jester on the ankle." Dorothy said sighing again.

"You know kiddo, you have enough ingenuity to think of something." Came the voice of the scarecrow.

Dorothy sat up and looked at the doorway. The scarecrow was standing in the doorway with Aislynn at his side. Aislynn smiled and ran over to the bed stood at the bedpost.

"He's right you know, you do have a lot of ingenuity." Aislynn said giggling.

"I know ace but this is the jester we're up against, not some bully from down the street." Dorothy said pushing herself into a sitting position.

"So? According to your friends you've vanquished evil before." Aislynn said smiling.

"Yes, and once I got myself turned to stone, so it's not always a situation I win in." Dorothy said.

"But you have more victories than defeats don't you?" Aislynn asked.

Dorothy sighed and got up, she then walked over to Aislynn and knelt down so she could be at eye level with her.

"Ace, most of the time my victories were by accident, like melting the witch of the west, or causing the jester's downfall the first time." Dorothy said sighing.

"Accident or not accident, you still have victories." Aislynn said hugging her.

"Fair enough ace, hey why don't you go with the scarecrow to the library?" Dorothy asked chuckling a bit.

"Because, the scarecrow, Ellie and I were thinking and because you are always doing nice things for others, that we could do something nice for you." Aislynn said smiling.

"Ace, Scarecrow, you guys know you don't have to do stuff for me." Dorothy said giggling.

"We know, we just want to." Came the voice of Ellie from behind the scarecrow.

"Ellie." Dorothy said giggling.

Ellie giggled as well and walked around the scarecrow. Coming into the room she walked over to Dorothy. She then went through one of her pockets and pulled out what looked like the little pocket calendar her aunt sometimes carried with her. Ellie flipped through the pages and handed it to Dorothy. She looked at the page and gasped. It showed that her birthday was only two days away.

"Wow, I really lost track of the days." Dorothy said taking her hand and pushing back her hair.

"I know, your uncle gave me this before he went to the hospital and told you to come find us at the park." Ellie said chuckling a bit.

Aislynn then pulled away from Dorothy's grasp and walked over to the scarecrow. Ellie then followed her.

"Dorothy, why don't you go and do some more exploring?" the scarecrow asked.

"Because I really don't like getting lost and my map is at home." Dorothy said sighing.

"So? That's what exploring can be all about, having fun, getting lost, finding something new." He replied going through his pockets and then producing a large ring of keys.

"Where'd you get that?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I found them in the chambers, I know that some of these keys go to rooms like the library, or the kitchens, but I don't know what all of them do, why don't you figure it out?" the scarecrow asked tossing her the keys.

Dorothy caught them, the ring was pretty heavy with keys, and a lot of them looked really old but still had a bit of a shine to them. She took the keys and put them in her dress pocket. Toto looked at her curiously.

"Well Toto, looks like we're going to get to see more of the city." Dorothy said smiling.

"Atta girl, have fun." The scarecrow said walking off, the girls following closely behind.

Dorothy smiled and got up, she then slid into her flats and walked over to the door. Grabbing the scepter she walked out of the room. Not bothering to shut and lock it this time, not that it ever really seemed to stop people from getting in there and leaving her notes. As she walked along she eventually found herself in the hallway that she had explored and started the chess game with the jester. She knew there were rooms here she hadn't seen yet. As she walked along she went to the first door that she know she hadn't gone through. She tried the door knob, but unlike the first few doors she had been through when she went there last, it was locked. Dorothy sighed and leaned the scepter against the wall.

"So, the first locked door Toto, I wonder which key opens it?" she asked him curiously.

He looked at her for a minute and made a set of movements that looked like he was shrugging. Dorothy giggled at this and took out the ring of keys. She then went through the process of trying each key one by one. After about five or six keys into the ring she found one that fit. It was a brass key with a small emerald set at the top. As she unlocked the door and opened it, she was met with a room that was rather dusty and full of cobwebs. As Dorothy picked up the scepter and walked in she immediately sneezed.

"Wow, it is really dusty in here." She said to herself sniffing a bit.

Toto barked in agreement, and then sneezed as well. But this didn't stop her from walking farther into the room. As she did she noticed that the room was relatively empty, save for a painting of the emerald city at the far end of the room. Dorothy shrugged this off, turned around, and walked out of the room. Shutting the door behind her she looked down at Toto who was trying to get a cobweb out of his fur. She chuckled at this and then knelt down to help him. After this was accomplished Dorothy stood up and walked over to another door. Trying the knob she was surprised to find this one unlocked. As she pushed the door open and walked in she noticed there was an empty chessboard in the middle of the room. She immediately ran out of the room and shut the door.

"Okay Toto, ground rule, stay away from chess boards unless one of our friends offers us a game." Dorothy said looking down at her dog.

He barked and nodded. This made Dorothy giggle a bit, but then she heard her stomach growl.

"Come on Toto lets go back, I could use come food." Dorothy said smiling.

Toto barked in agreement, he was used to having breakfast as a certain time. They both walked back towards the main part of the castle. Dorothy smiled as they walked along, she knew there were many unexplored rooms in the city, and she would try to find them all. After a few minutes of walking she found herself pulled into a crushing embrace, not by Ellie, or Aislynn but by Alyssa. She returned the embrace and looked up at her.

"Dorothy, how you been?" she asked.

"I'm fine Alyssa, what's with the hug?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I'm just glad you're alright, we heard what happened." Alyssa said smiling warmly.

"Thanks Alyssa, yea I'm fine, I was just heading to the kitchens, I'm a little hungry." Dorothy said.

Toto barked in agreement, Alyssa giggled and stepped to the side allowing Dorothy to pass. Dorothy then found herself in front of the kitchen. As she walked in she saw that it was relatively empty but Brianna was there doing some quick cooking by the looks of it. Dorothy smiled as she turned to face her.

"Oh, hello Dorothy, need anything?" Brianna asked.

"Just something to eat." Dorothy said, Toto barked in agreement.

"Oh, well, we are currently restocking the kitchens at the moment, those who managed to escape the munchkin city have been coming here, and we've been supplying them." Brianna said.

"That's okay, if you have any food for Toto that's alright, I'll just have a piece of fruit or something." Dorothy said.

Brianna quickly turned around a picked up and apple. Tossing it to Dorothy, who caught it. She then walked over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a bag of dog treats. She took one out and tossed at Toto who ran, jumped and caught it. Dorothy and Brianna both giggled at this for a moment. She then took a bite from the apple. Shortly after however Ellie came up behind her.

"Dorothy, it's time to return, according to your uncle you are needed at the sheriff's office." Ellie said in a worried tone.

"You should go Dorothy." Brianna said.

Dorothy nodded, and followed Ellie. Toto was following closely at their heels. She led them to the library where they found Aislynn, Glinda and the Scarecrow waiting for her.

"I wonder what the sheriff wants?" Dorothy asked herself.

"Probably something important" Ellie said.

Dorothy nodded and the scepter began to glow brightly. She felt herself lurch forward, the colors whizzing by her face. She began to feel dizzy and sick when she felt her feet hit the ground. She fell forward into the sheriff's arm. She then found herself in a chair panting and heaving for breath.

"Dorothy, there's something we need to discuss." He said in a serious tone


	18. Another choice, another storm

**Disclaimer, I do not own the movies, the franchises, etc.**

Dorothy looked at the sheriff curiously. What was so concerning that he needed her to be there. She then tried to catch her breath a bit. When she finally regained her composure she looked at him. The door to the office then opened behind her and in walked Mr. Greene the attorney that she had met at Mr. Diggs manor.

"Oh hello miss gale." He said as he straightened his jacket.

"Hello Mr. Greene, what brings you here?" Dorothy asked.

"He's the state's attorney, yes he was Mr. Diggs's attorney but he also works for the state in the event that someone cannot get a lawyer or an attorney." Office grey said calmly.

"How does this have to concern me though? Unless it's about Mr. Diggs's body being stolen from the morgue do I really need to be here?" she asked.

"Yes miss gale, because you have something to do with the client of mine that I'm sure you saw walking around this morning." Mr. Greene said wiping his brow.

"And who's your client?" she asked.

"After some analysis and questioning we have found that his real name is Alex Pryce, but you may remember him as The Appraiser." The sheriff said.

Dorothy gasped, she hadn't thought about The Appraiser since it was her that got him arrested in the first place.

"He's been released from prison?" Dorothy asked.

"No, he was let out for an accompanied stroll this morning." The sheriff said.

"But, because you got him arrested and that there is most likely to be some backlash at you for getting him arrested, according to his inmates and the guards that were watching him and his lackey, he never seemed to want revenge, he did however seem sorry for what he did." Mr. Greene said handing Dorothy some papers.

"So, I have the choice to sign him out of the prison and let him walk free, or not sign them, and whatever the alternative is?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes that's pretty much it, but there is one problem, though he is a Kansas citizen by birth, he actually owns a small house in the next town over, if he isn't released he'll have to go to trial for his other scams and crimes, and with his record, he could spend the rest of his life in jail or even end up in the chair." Mr. Greene said.

This made Dorothy feel rather guilty, she rifled through the papers and found many official documents on accounts of his crimes. Along with them were a list of Pseudonyms that he used along with a record of all his living family members. She sighed and looked at the sheriff, then at Mr. Greene.

"Can I go see him?" She asked curiously.

"Only if you really want to, we are right now holding him in one of the cells here." The sheriff said.

"I'd like to talk to him, alone, if you don't mind." She said putting down the papers.

A piece of paper fluttered down from the pile unnoticed by the sheriff or Mr. Greene. She sighed and got up handing the scepter to the sheriff, she was then led out of the office and to a door that was marked 'Holding Cells.' She sighed and opened it, taking the scepter from the sheriff she walked in slowly. Shutting the door behind her she turned to see one of the cells being guarded by the deputy sheriff. The door then opened behind her and the deputy sheriff walk towards her.

"If anything happens we'll be standing outside the door." he said.

"I think I can manage." Dorothy said smiling.

He nodded and Dorothy walked towards the cell. She noticed buttons were set up next to the cell doors a green one marked open and a red one marked close. Soon she found herself at the cell that he was in. he was lying down on the bed, now a clean shaven man, but he still had the same facial features.

"So, you've decided to see the man you've pretty much condemned?" he asked in a sad tone.

"What do you mean condemned? I haven't signed anything to keep you in prison or on trial." She said.

"I know, but why would you release me? After all I did, I tried to take the homes of everyone in this town, and as I'm sure the attorney has told you, I have a horrible past, I'm a con." He said getting up.

"I'm aware, I'm also aware that you were born in the next town over." She said.

"That is true, believe it or not I wasn't always like this." He said.

"Most people don't start out as cons, I kind of gathered that." She said.

"Well that is correct, I've always live here in Kansas actually, I just traveled a lot and got caught up in all the excitement of scams and stuff that you don't normally find happening in such nice places like here and my own home town." He said sadly.

"Have you had any visitors while you were in the prison?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"My entire family has practically rejected me now that they know what I've become." He said going into his pocket and pulling out some letters.

Dorothy looked at them for a moment then walked over to the button next to the door. Pressing the green one she heard a small motor hum to life. The door slowly opened and she walked in. sitting down on across from the bed she took the letters from him. Flipping through them, she noticed they were all pretty much hate mail, insulting him, threatening to disown him from the family, saying he was shunned and should never show his face in his home town again. She sighed and handed them back to him.

"The time that I spent in the prison made me think about my life, if I had kept on the track I had been using I would have found myself in bigger trouble than I am now." He said pocketing the letters.

Dorothy was saddened by this, she tightened her grip around the scepter which had now at this point grown dark. She looked at him, his eyes were heavy, and they showed regret, sadness, and sorrow. He was truly being sincere about his words.

"Mr. Pryce?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes?" he replied curiously.

"What would you do, if I let you go free?" she asked curiously.

"Well, first I would try to make amends with my family, then I would apologize to all the people I have affected through my actions." He said in a hopeful tone.

"I think I've heard enough, you know, your cell door is now wide open and yet you make no attempt to run, why is that?" she asked curiously and looking at the door.

"Because, where would I go? There is a guard waiting out there to pretty much shoot me dead in the event that I even try to escape this hall." He said sighing.

Dorothy then chose this moment to get up and walk out of the cell. She turned to look back at him, she knew this man was truly sorry for his actions, but he was hated by his entire family. She knew that if she let him out, she would try and find a way to help him make amends. She was about to get lost in thought when she heard him speak again.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"What?" she asked turning around again.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you, your family, everyone." He said

Dorothy smiled and pushed the red button next to the door, as she heard it close and lock into place she began to walk down the hall towards the door. When she got there and opened it she was met with Officer Grey, the deputy sheriff and Mr. Greene all waiting for her.

"So?" the Deputy Sheriff asked.

"Can I have a few minutes to think?" Dorothy asked.

"Take your time, we're in no hurry." Mr. Greene said.

Dorothy nodded and walked back to the sheriff's office. She walked in and over to the large armchair that was placed in the room. She sat down in the chair and began to think. This man was most definitely sorry for his actions, and he truly wanted to make amends, but he had no idea how he would accomplish it without help. She then looked around the room and saw a radio sitting on a small table next to her. She picked it up and turned the tuning knob. It immediately crackled to life.

"Breaking news, local town heroine Dorothy gale is now said to be at the local sheriff's office determining the fate of Mr. Alex Pryce, a con man who once tried to take all the homes in the town for his own gain, if he is released there is no knowing what he may do…." The voice of the newsreader said as Dorothy immediately turned off the radio.

She held somebody's life in her hands at this very moment. She knew that if she kept him in jail he would die alone, sad, and rejected. But if he let him free, well how do you make amends with a family that has basically rejected you past the point of no return? She felt confused about it, she didn't know what to do.

"Miss gale? There is a reporter here who want to talk to you about the situation." Came the voice of the sheriff.

"Tell him I'm unavailable for comment at the moment!" she yelled.

"Okay, will do." He replied.

Dorothy sighed and sat back in the chair. Why was she of all people always forced to make such dire decisions? She couldn't deny that she was technically responsible for putting him in prison but she didn't want his life in her hands. She thought about this for a minute. Then she made her decision. She then got up and tightened her grip on the scepter. Walking out of the office she was confronted by many reporters.

"Miss Gale, have you made your decision yet?" one of them asked.

"Yes I have and if you would all back off please I'd be much more comfortable." She said as kindly as she could.

The entire room became still and quite, the only one still talking was a live news reporter.

"Earlier, as in a few minutes ago, this man gave me a sincere apology for everything he has done, and I cannot condemn a man like him to such a fate that he would most likely end up dead from." Dorothy said looking at the sheriff and nodding.

He nodded and went to the holding cells, Mr. Greene walked up to her carrying some papers, a clipboard and a pen. She took them from him and read through them. It was an official release form. She smiled and signed it, all that was needed now was Mr. Pryce's signature.

"Ms. Gale were you aware that Mr. Pryce was once a school teacher?" asked one of the reporters.

"I was not." She replied.

The sheriff then emerged followed by Mr. Pryce. He was smiling and crying. He hadn't expected this. When he was handed the forms he immediately signed them, as did the sheriff. Mr. Pryce then walked over to Dorothy and offered his hand. She shook it gladly and then walked forward. She didn't get far before she heard a loud clap of thunder. It began to start pouring.

"Officer Grey, would you mind keeping him here for now, I have a really bad feeling about this weather." Dorothy said walking over to a window looking out at the sky.

It was dark and grey. Another flash of lightning followed by a clap of thunder soon followed this observation.

"I think that would be smart Dorothy, well at least the reporters all ran off so that their equipment wouldn't get ruined." He said chuckling.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Mr. Pryce asked.

"Only if you want to do something that could get you killed." Dorothy responded.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I'll explain later." She said.

He shrugged. Dorothy slid out of her flats and walked over to the sheriff and handing them to him.

"Uncle Henry would kill me if I ruined these." She said.

"But you need proper footwear if you're going to go out in that weather." Mr. Pryce said sounding really concerned.

"No I don't, believe me, I've been through much, much worse." She said tightening her grip on the scepter and running out.

She ran for a few minutes, she soon found herself completely soaked. She ran in the direction of the hospital, when she got there and walked in she was greeted by the receptionist. Dorothy didn't say anything she just went to the room that her aunt was being kept in. she found her uncle waiting for her there, as well as Ellie, Aislynn and Mr. Alistair. Her aunt was sitting up on the bed looking at her, and smiling.

"Dorothy, why are you soaked?" Ellie asked.

"I ran all the way here in the pouring rain." Dorothy replied.

"Oh, right it's raining, anyways we saw what happened, and it was very nice of you to release that man." Ellie said smiling.

"We heard what happened over the radio that was a very brave thing that you've done." Auntie Em said smiling.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to her aunt, kissing her on the cheek. Dorothy then walked over to Mr. Alistair and whispered something into his ear. He nodded and smiled. Dorothy smiled as well and then one of the nurses came in.

"Miss gale, would you like to go to another room and dry off?" she asked.

Dorothy looked at the nurse and walked over to her. She then walked over to the table behind the door and grabbing her satchel and her boots. Pulling on the boots she walked past the nurse. Toto followed her closely and they walked out of the hospital. Another clap of thunder rolled through the sky and lightning continuously flashed. She ran quickly and eventually made it to the house she recognized as Mr. Alistair's. She knocked on the door and it was answered by Donna who quickly pulled Dorothy in and soon she found a towel being thrown at her.

"thanks." She said drying off her hair.

"No problem, I had a feeling you'd show up eventually." Donna said chuckling.

"Still thanks, any ways how are your parents?" she asked curiously.

"They're fine, they should be back in a few days with the building supplies, and Kelly is forcing my aunt to teach her how to sew." Donna said giggling.

"Where did they go for the supplies?" Dorothy asked

"Just a few towns over, they're just stockpiling as usual." She said going into the other room.

Dorothy couldn't help but chuckle, Donna and Kelly's parents always hand a tendency to get things they didn't even need that much of. It was fun to watch them going into their house after they would go grocery shopping. Their house was two floors tall. They were a moderately wealthy family, always prepared for anything for some reason.

"Hey, don't laugh." Donna said emerging with one of Dorothy's other dresses.

Dorothy thanked Donna and went to change. After this was accomplished she emerged and was immediately tossed a rain coat and an umbrella.

"Why do I need these?" Dorothy asked.

"Because 'You' are going back to the hospital." Donna said as Kelly ran down the stairs.

Toto ran up to Kelly and barked, she scratched him behind the ears. He then returned to Dorothy as she was pulling on the rain coat. She then pulled her boots back on and was about to leave when Donna grabbed her shoulder.

"Yes donna?" Dorothy asked.

"We, as in Kelly and I, received a message from Glinda to tell you to be careful." She said.

Dorothy pushed the door open and was met with a clap of thunder. She opened the umbrella, Dorothy then looked down and Toto who was standing close to her. She then started walking towards the hospital. Tightening her grip on the scepter which was now glowing slightly. The weather was now beginning to pick up and was getting dangerous. She needed to get to the hospital quickly. She began to pick up the pace she then jumped as a bolt of lightning struck close to her. She looked around and saw some people running at her. But then she began to feel dizzy and blacked out.

"I think she's waking up." came a voice from around her.

"Oh thank goodness." Was the response.

"She seems to pass out a lot recently." Came another voice.

Dorothy was now in a bit of a daze at this point, she had no idea where she was, or what she was doing there. She being to open her eyes but found that one couldn't open. She groaned a bit and pushed herself into a sitting position.

"What happened?" she asked placing a hand over her eye that was still closed.

"Don't worry about your eye miss gale, it's just got a patch of some sort of ointment over It." came the voice of Doctor Maxwell.

"You mean you don't know?" she asked him.

"It's not mine, a mysterious girl came in and placed it on you, your friend here has been checking it every once in a while, you seem to be recovering quickly which seems like a miracle." He said.

"Okay, well that answers my next question but again what happened?" she asked curiously.

"Well according to the sheriff you collapsed and hit a root that was sticking out of the ground, but you seem to be recovering nicely." He said turning around walking out.

Dorothy sighed and used her good eye she saw the scepter leaned against the bed. She also noticed that everybody was crowded around her at this point.

"Dorothy, Elena came here, what is currently on your eye right now, or at least as far as I've gathered, is a special ointment made by my sister, and it really is helping." She said smiling.

"Thanks, how long?" she asked.

"How long will you need the patch or how long have you been unconscious?" they all asked in unison.

"Both." Dorothy said giggling a bit.

"Well you've been unconscious for maybe three or four hours now." Said the sheriff who was now turning to walk out.

"And the patch will need to stay on till at least tomorrow morning according to Elena." Ellie replied.

"That's nice, so I have to go with judgment from one good eye." Dorothy said.

"Hey, it happened to me once, I walked into a tree and had to go through the same process." Ellie said.

"Well at least it doesn't leave any scarring." Uncle Henry said sighing.

"No, that's a different ointment." She replied.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better." Dorothy said.

Everyone laughed at this for a minute and then the clock struck seven. Ellie then walked over to Dorothy and slowly lifted up the patch. She then smiled and set it back over the eye carefully and gently.

"Well, it is definitely improving." Ellie said.

"Thanks for checking, but I still couldn't open it." Dorothy said concerned.

"You won't be able to till your eye is completely healed." Ellie said.

"And that couldn't be the first thing you told me?" Dorothy asked.

"You didn't ask." Ellie said walking back to the end of the bed.

Dorothy closed her other eye leaned back. She began to think about the jester, why wouldn't he just jump out and reveal his plan already? What was going on? And more importantly why did she constantly pass out for what seems like no apparent reason? She couldn't come up with any answers, not anyone of them made sense in her head. She began to get lost in thought when she felt someone tug on her dress. She opened her eye and was met with Aislynn's gaze. She had slid the notebook onto her lap along with a pencil.

"I assume you want me to either draw or write something ace?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes please." Aislynn replied.

Dorothy nodded and opened the notebook and picked up the pencil. She immediately began to sketch. She looked up for a moment and noticed it was only Ellie, Aislynn, and herself in the room now, but she shrugged this off and went back to sketching.

"What is she sketching?" Aislynn asked looking at Ellie

"Knowing her, could be anything." Ellie replied.

"Really?" she asked.

"Well, she designed a dress for me once, she also designed a dress or two for the china princess, and she's even sketched a few other things that I've seen." Ellie replied.

"Oh." Was the only response she could come up with?

"Yep." Was Ellie's response.

After a few minutes Ellie got p and took aislynn's hand and led her out of the room so Dorothy could have some peace and quiet. Dorothy didn't take much notice however, she continued on sketching. After a few minutes she stopped and held it a distance from her good eye. She then examined it for a bit and smiled with content. It was a nice looking sketch of Aislynn and Ellie.

"Well that's a nice picture." She said to herself.

Toto then ran into the room followed by Uncle Henry.

"Dorothy, Doctor Maxwell said its okay for you to leave." He said.

"And go where exactly?" she asked.

"Well there's the Alistair residence." He replied, "Or you could see if your friends can bring you to Oz, I don't know to be quite honest." He added.

Dorothy sighed and got up. She then picked up the scepter and walked over to her uncle. Hugging him for a minute she stumbled about trying to get used to having the patch over her eye. She then walked past him followed by Toto closely at her heels. After a few minutes of walking she found herself back at the reception desk. The receptionist greeted her kindly and asked her how her eye was doing.

"Its improving." She said.

The receptionist nodded and Dorothy walked out of the hospital, the rain had long since stopped and Ellie and Aislynn could be seen sitting on a bench just outside the hospital. She walked over to them and embraced them from behind.

"So where are we going to stay tonight?" she asked them curiously.

"I had the sheriff call up Aislynn's maids they should be here in a few minutes to pick us up." Ellie responded smiling.

"So staying at the Digg's residence that should be nice." She replied.

Toto barked in agreement as two cars pulled up to them. One was the canary yellow one commonly driven by Jessica, the other one was emerald green which she knew was Jenny's. Opening the door she allowed Aislynn to get in. she then got in the front seat and looked at Jessica, who gasped when she finally noticed the patch over Dorothy's eye.

"Dear lord, what happened?" Jessica asked quite concerned.

"Jessica!" Aislynn shouted.

"Ace I'm allowed to ask." She said as Ellie came over and handed Toto over to Dorothy.

Dorothy took Toto in her arms and got in the car. She handed Toto and the scepter to Aislynn while she got herself settled in and sighed.

"I passed out and my eye made contact with a tree root Jessica." Dorothy said.

Jessica nodded and looked at Dorothy sadly, she then began to drive off. Dorothy could see Ellie getting into Jenny's car through the rearview mirror. She sighed and lounged back for a bit. She soon began to doze off as they drove along and the next thing she knew they were at the manor. She sat up and shook her head a few times to clear it. She then got up and walked out of the car. She then opened the back door and let Toto out. She noticed that Aislynn had actually fallen asleep. She leaned into the car and grabbed the scepter while Jessica went to the other side and picked up Aislynn. Jenny pulled up soon after and they all walked to the door of the manor. As soon as they were all in Dorothy pulled off her boots and placed them in the rack. She then walked to the parlor with Ellie and Toto and sat down on one of the couches. She soon found herself dozing and was eventually asleep again.


	19. More Trouble ahead

**Disclaimer, well you get the picture by now, I don't own the movies, franchises, etc.**

Dorothy soon found herself once more in the middle of a nightmare. She found herself in the middle of a dark room. The jester's laugh echoing through the room. She found herself unable to scream, she couldn't move, she couldn't do anything. Then the figure of the jester appeared to her.

"Now my dear, the game can truly begin!" he said cackling.

The room lit up with a bright white light and she was met with the usual sight. Her friends being tortured. She was unable to move, she felt tears streaming down her face as she witnessed what was happening. She wanted to scream but she couldn't, and she soon felt a warm embrace.

"Dorothy, please, you're having the nightmare again, please wake up." Came the voice of Ellie.

Dorothy's eyes snapped open, the patch had been removed from her eye and she could see out of it now. She found herself once again drenched in sweat. She soon felt herself being embraced not just by Ellie but now by Aislynn. Tears continued to pour from her eyes. Ellie then broke from the embrace and helped Dorothy off the couch. Dorothy then felt something being forced into her hand. As she tightened her grip over it she felt herself lurch forward. The feeling of dizziness and sickness began to fall over her as it often did. She soon felt her feet make contact with the ground. She immediately fell into the arms of the scarecrow. She continued to cry as the scarecrow ran his hand through her hair.

"Easy now Dorothy, it's alright." He said trying to calm her.

Dorothy tightened her embrace. She soon felt another hand on her shoulder. She sniffed and turned around to find Glinda, she was smiling her warm smile. Dorothy began to feel better but she was still crying. The scarecrow broke from the embrace and took Dorothy's hand. She was then led over to a couch where she sat down. She looked at her hand and found that she was gripping the scepter. She dropped it and it rolled away. She then felt something else being forced into her hand. She quickly felt a feeling of calmness and tranquility pass over her. Her breathing slowed and she stopped crying. She looked at her hand and saw the pink orb sitting in her grasp.

"Thanks, I needed that." She said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Dorothy, I would suggest keeping that with you." Glinda said walking over to her.

"Why Glinda?" Dorothy asked.

"Because, we can't keep bringing you here every time there's a problem, we have to keep the jester's spell from taking over all of Oz." Glinda said taking Dorothy's chin in her hand.

"So you're just as much under siege as my home has been?" Dorothy asked sighing.

"Exactly, but Dorothy, promise us one thing, and don't break this promise this time." The scarecrow requested.

"Scarecrow, if I kept all my promises you guys would all be dead." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy!" The scarecrow said sternly.

Dorothy sighed in defeat.

"What do you want me to promise?" she asked curiously.

"Promise us that you won't go looking for the jester, let him come to you, don't worry about him, we know he's confronted you at least twice outside of Oz, he told us himself." The scarecrow said.

"Dorothy, I want to know, is this true?" Glinda asked curiously.

Dorothy nodded in defeat, Glinda sighed.

"He confronted me at the grave of my parents, he was laying flowers there." She said hanging her head in shame.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Glinda asked extremely concerned.

"Because I knew this kind of thing would happen!" she yelled starting to get upset again.

"Dorothy, please, don't get upset again, I'm sorry I mentioned It." the scarecrow said.

"Dorothy, the scarecrow asked you to make a promise, do you promise to keep it?" Glinda asked taking Dorothy's chin in her hand and gently turning her head to face her.

"I-I, I promise not to go looking for the jester." Dorothy said defeated.

Glinda nodded and let go of Dorothy's chin, the scarecrow then walked up to her and knelt so he could make eye contact with her.

"Dorothy, promise me you won't break this promise, I want know that you won't put yourself in danger." The scarecrow said.

Dorothy didn't even think about it, she immediately leaned forward and kissed the scarecrow on the cheek, he once again physically blushed. This made Dorothy giggle. She then took the orb and placed it in her dress pocket.

"Scarecrow, you know I never go looking for danger, I tend to go looking for answers." She said still giggling.

"Dorothy, I… actually that is a good point." the scarecrow said thinking about it for a moment.

"Dorothy, just promise us you'll try to keep yourself safe." Glinda said picking up the scepter.

"I promise Glinda, anyways, can I go back now?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure, and Dorothy." Glinda said.

"Yes Glinda?" Dorothy replied

"Happy early birthday." She responded smiling.

Dorothy chuckled as Glinda handed her the scepter. She then felt herself lurch forward. She felt herself this time get extremely dizzy, she looked at the scepter which then flashed an extremely bright light. She then felt her feet make contact with the floor. She fell forward into Jessica's arms. She knew Ellie probably told her to wait there for her return.

"There you are dear, Ellie told me you'd appear sooner or later, they're in the kitchen eating breakfast." She said smiling.

Dorothy nodded and walked in the direction of the kitchen, when she got there she found Ellie and Aislynn eating pancakes at a table on the other side of the kitchen. Dorothy walked over to them and set the scepter against the table. Jenny then came over and handed Dorothy a plate of pancakes. As she sat down she noticed Toto was in the corner gnawing on what looked like a cold chicken leg. She smiled and began to eat. She loved how the pancakes tasted, they had a nice buttermilk flavor to them. She ate in silence for a few moments before looking at Ellie who seemed to be watching her eat.

"What?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"How's my sister?" she asked curiously.

"She's fine, just a bit on edge it seems, she's trying to keep the rest of Oz from being affected by the jesters magic." She said taking another forkful of pancake.

"So, it's basically warfare then?" Ellie asked.

"I wouldn't call it that." Dorothy said.

"What would you call it then?" Aislynn asked.

"I think I'd call it more of a siege since there hasn't been any physical battling going on." She said.

"Okay then." Ellie and Aislynn said in unison.

They all then continued to eat in silence. When they were all finished Dorothy picked up the plates and stuff and brought them to jenny who thanked her and went to wash them. Dorothy then walked over to Toto who at this point was just really gnawing at a chicken bone. When he saw her he got up and barked. Dorothy giggled and leaned over to pick up the bone. She then took it to a trash can and dropped it in. she then walked over to the table and grabbed the scepter, she then motioned for Aislynn and Ellie to follow her. Soon they all found themselves at the front door. Dorothy went over to the rack and grabbed her boots. As she pulled them on a knock came from the door. Jessica ran into the room and opened the door. She was greeted by Dorothy's aunt and uncle.

"Mrs. Gale how have you been?" Jessica asked.

"I've been good, Glinda told us they were here so we came to get them, oh and Dorothy, there's a letter for you." Auntie Em said handing Dorothy an envelope.

Dorothy looked at it and recognized it as a letter that Mr. Alistair sent out every year to the students of the school. She sighed and opened it. Taking out the paper that was inside. She then read through it. It was the schools usual end of the summer greeting and supply list. However stapled to the back was a registration form.

"I guess Mr. Alistair wants me to register Aislynn for school." Dorothy said.

"I'll help you with that later." Auntie Em said.

"Thanks auntie Em, I'm assuming you guys are here to bring us back to town?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yep, anyways, come on you three, were borrowing Mr. Alistair's truck." Uncle Henry replied.

Aislynn nodded and walked over the rack, pulling out a pair of dress shoes. She quickly pulled them on and ran out of the house. Dorothy followed as did Ellie who was carrying Toto in her arms. When they were in the truck Dorothy gave the scepter to Ellie. She then stretched and groaned. And soon they were driving back to the town.

"So, how's your eye?" Uncle Henry asked.

"Its better, I never actually looked at myself in a mirror this morning, how do I look?" she asked looking at Ellie.

"I think you look good, no bruising, scarring, you look normal." She said.

"That's good." Dorothy said smiling.

"You're welcome." Ellie said giggling.

Dorothy smiled again and sat back. Toto walked over and sat down on her lap. She began to wonder what she was going to do at this point she made a promise to the scarecrow not to go looking for danger. But how was she going to keep this promise when danger tended to come to her extremely often. She hoped the jester would either show up or just let his game play out on its own accord.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked.

"Huh, what?" Dorothy asked snapping out of her thought.

"You were getting lost in thought again." Ellie said concerned.

"Oh, right, sorry, Oh, we're back in town." Dorothy exclaimed.

"Right, Dorothy, your aunt and I are going to head back to the house with some people and work on trying to get it fixed, we had it appraised last night, and yes by an actual appraiser, he said its fixable but it will take a lot of work, its either that or scrap the entire place and build from the ground up." uncle henry said in an annoyed tone.

Dorothy smiled and took the scepter from Ellie. She then opened the door and jumped out of the truck as it came to a complete halt. Toto had fall off her lap and was now in a complete daze. She ran towards the library, she heard Aislynn and Ellie calling after her. When she got to the library and got in she walked over to the children's section. Setting down the scepter against her stool, she sat down waited. The library would be getting busy soon and she knew it. She was ready for the wave of children that would start coming and waiting for her to continue her story. The clock then struck 9 o'clock. People started coming into the library. Aislynn and Ellie were part of that large flow of people they were followed by Toto at their heels..

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Why'd you run off like that?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I don't know to be honest, hey Ace why don't you sit down and wait, I'll be continuing the story in few minutes." Dorothy said turning her attention to Aislynn.

Aislynn nodded and sat down in front of Dorothy, she then smiled and looked around. More children were beginning to come and gather around. When Dorothy felt that this was a large enough group of kids, she began to talk of her third day in the emerald city. Recounting everything that had happened. she had begun to tell them about what had happened once she had been knocked unconscious when a small balls of paper flew past her and struck Aislynn.

"Hey, it's that girl who reads the encyclopedia for fun!" came the voice of Alex.

He had returned to the library, this time with a small group of people from Dorothy's class. They were laughing at Aislynn. Making fun of her for liking to read. Aislynn got up and ran away crying. Ellie ran after her. Mrs. T walked over to the boys and was about to start scolding them when Dorothy got up, grabbed the scepter and walked over to them/

"Hey, Alex, that was a rotten thing to do, and it was low even for your standards." Dorothy said in a stern tone.

"But she reads for fun." Alex replied.

"So? Some people go to the library to do that, you really hurt her feelings." Dorothy said.

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"Because I happen to have her in my custody." Dorothy said.

Alex went completely wide-eyed at this.

"What?" he finally managed to say.

"She's not just someone I care about, she is in my custody." Dorothy said.

Ellie then showed up with Aislynn at her side. Alex and his group took this time to run. Ellie and Mrs. T tried to run after them but Dorothy held the scepter out blocking them from pursuing them.

"Dorothy!" Ellie yelled.

"Let them go, they'll just do it again anyways." Dorothy said sighing.

"You mean they've done this before?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes, and not just to Ace, he and that group are always causing problems at school." Dorothy said sadly.

"Why do you guys let him do it?" Aislynn asked.

"Because no one has been able to stop him, he's a rebel." Came the voice of Donna from behind them.

"Exactly donna." Dorothy said.

"And I'm sure that when we start school in a few weeks they'll do it to whoever out teacher is this year." Donna said sighing.

"What are you so sorry about? You used to be the same way." Dorothy said.

"Yea but I've changed." She replied.

Toto walked over to them at this point and decided to make his presence known. Dorothy sighed and picked him up. He barked again and licked her on her face. She giggled and handed Toto to Ellie.

"Ellie, I'm going to go for a walk, watch ace and Toto and keep them safe." Dorothy said walking towards the doors.

As she walked out of the library she looked around and saw that the sky was relatively clear today. She saw some clouds but they weren't the dark ones that loomed over Kansas so often. She sighed and began her walk soon she found herself walking by the bank and remembered the key she had been left. She gasped and rummaged through her pockets. She was surprised to find the keys on their ribbon in her pockets. She looked at the smaller of the two, know it was to the deposit box she walked in, as she did she saw Officer grey and his wife who worked at the bank.

"Ah hello Dorothy." came the voice of Officer Grey.

"Oh, hello officer grey, Hello Mrs. Grey." Dorothy said.

"Hello Dorothy dear, did you need something?" Mrs. Grey asked curiously.

"Yes, I would like to access a safety deposit box that I inherited." Dorothy said showing her the key.

"Ah yes, my husband was telling me about that a few days ago, right this way, I'll take you to Mr. Diggs's deposit box." She said getting up and leading Dorothy down a hallway.

As they walked Dorothy around and wondered why they never hung anything around here. Mrs. Grey then stopped in front of a large door and took out a set of keys. She then unlocked the door and walked in. taking out a small ledger book. She flipped through it for a minute and walked over to a small box. It was marks 127-OZ. this made Dorothy giggle a bit as she walked over and inserted the key in the lock. Turning it, she then pulled the box out and walked to a nearby table. Mrs. Grey had gone to the corner of the room know Dorothy wanted some privacy while she did this. Dorothy then sat down at the table, setting down the scepter she went through the contents of the box. The first thing she pulled out was a key, she would have to add it to the set of keys that scarecrow had. She then pulled out the book and the emerald. The book was small, and it looked like it belonged in the emerald city library. She flipped through it and found that it was more or less like a journal. It seemed to be recounts of everything Mr. Diggs did when he was in Oz and when he returned to Kansas. She then looked at the emerald, it was a nice cut one that looked like it could be made into a pendent, but she was sure it had a place in the emerald city somewhere. She pocketed the key and the emerald. She then placed the book back in the box and walked over to the shelf.

"Could you help me get this back in?" Dorothy asked.

Mrs. Grey nodded and walked over. Dorothy took the key and inserted it in the lock before Mrs. Grey set it back into its spot. Dorothy then turned the key and locked it again. She then drew the key from the lock and then pocketed her keys. She then walked over to the scepter and picked it.

"Thanks Mrs. Grey." Dorothy said as she walked out of the room.

"No problem dear." She replied

Dorothy smiled and walked out of the room. She then walked out of the bank. She then headed back towards the library. When she got there she found Ellie and Aislynn sitting on a bench Toto was on the ground playing with one of Ellie's shoes.

"So, I see you two have been keeping yourselves amused." Dorothy said giggling.

"Thanks Dorothy, oh by the way, your aunt called the library, Aislynn's registered all they need is your signature and she can start the school year at your school, the problem is school will be starting late for you this year." Ellie said.

"Why's that?" Dorothy asked.

"According to Mr. Alistair, most of the teachers left after this last tornado." Ellie said sadly.

Hey guys?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes Aislynn?" Dorothy asked looking at her.

"What's that?" She asked quite concerned.

"What's what?" Dorothy asked.

Aislynn pointed at the sky. Ellie and Dorothy looked. They saw some strange creature silhouetted in the sunlight fly past them.

"I don't know ace." Ellie replied.

"Me neither, I hope it was some rare species of bird though." Dorothy said a bit worried.

"You know what that was." Came the voice of the jester ringing through her head.

"Dorothy…?" Ellie asked.

Dorothy began to feel really dizzy and nauseous, this next thing she knew, she collapsed and blacked out.


	20. Fear

**Disclaimer, same as usual.**

Dorothy awoke several hours later, her head was throbbing. She felt around where she was and felt that she was on a bed of some sort. She tried to open her eyes but her head was throbbing too much. She soon felt someone take her hand in theirs and squeeze it tightly.

"Who's there?" Dorothy groaned out.

"It's me." Came the voice of Aislynn.

"Ace, tell Glinda I heard his voice in my head." Dorothy said groaning.

She felt Aislynn's hand pull away from her grasp. This told her she was definitely in the emerald city. But it also meant that Glinda was most likely busy trying to work her magic. She wanted to get lost in thought when she felt a hand placed behind her head and another one bringing a cup to her lips. The cup was tilted and she immediately got a drink of cold water. Her head began to clear and she was able to open her eyes. She saw Elena who was now looking into her previously injured eye.

"Hello Dorothy, just checking your eye, it looks like it healed up nicely." She said smiling and taking out a hand mirror.

Dorothy for the first time in a while got a chance to see her face in a mirror. Her eye actually didn't look that bad, it looked like it never needed a patch over it.

"Close your eye, yes just that one, and imagine, there was a bleeding cut about here, and a lot of bruising here, a puffy swollen eyelid and a bit of bruising there." Elena said tracing the pattern on her face with her finger.

"Thanks Elena but I'd rather not, I don't want to get sick thank you though." She said shrinking back at Elena's touch.

"At least I saw it, I don't have to imagine it." Elena said giggling.

"I get that you're a nurse and all but how can you giggle at me getting sick?" Dorothy asked.

"I don't know, well anyways, your stuff is on your dresser, happy early birthday by the way." Elena said smiling and getting up.

"Thanks." Dorothy said smiling.

As Elena walked out Dorothy noticed that the scepter was floating next to her just off the bed. She looked and saw her stuff on the dresser as Elena had said. Dorothy looked at her clothing and realized she was now in a white silk night gown. How long had she been unconscious for? She shrugged this off and got up. She picked up the scepter and grabbed her dress and her shirt. She felt that she could go without her boots for a while at this point. She then walked into the bathroom and changed. When she emerged she immediately dropped everything from what she saw. The jester, was sitting on her bed, flipping through all of her sketches.

"What are you doing here? And what have you done with my friends?" she asked curiously.

"What? Well nothing, why do you think I should?" he asked gesturing towards the door.

Dorothy bent down to pick up the scepter, however when she got back up she found him gone and her sketches stacked neatly on the dresser. She sighed and walked out of the room she was immediately run into by Glinda.

"Dorothy, I heard him what did he say?" Glinda asked quite concerned.

"he didn't really say anything, I asked him what he did to you guys because he was on my bed, he said nothing and asked if he should do something to you guys he then vanished when I went to pick up the scepter." Dorothy said in a scared tone.

"I think he's trying to make you paranoid." Glinda said sighing and kissing Dorothy on the forehead.

"I figured he might." Dorothy said tightening her grip on the scepter.

"Dorothy, where are your boots?" Glinda asked curiously.

"In my room, it makes me feel more relaxed." Dorothy said smiling.

Glinda nodded and grabbed Dorothy's wrist quickly pulling her to the chambers. When they got there she was immediately pulled into an embrace by Ellie. Dorothy returned the embrace and Glinda let go of her wrist. Dorothy felt safe with Ellie, she needed her to stick around and be there for her. But at the same time she needed to be there for Ellie, to keep her safe from the jester's wrath. She then heard a clock struck nine, Marshall Mallow and wiser walked in. Dorothy pulled from Ellie's grasp and ran over to them. She hugged Marshall Mallow first, rather gently. She then went over to wiser and hugged him tightly.

"So you finally woke up." Marshall Mallow said smiling.

"Dear, please don't interrogate her." The china princess said giggling.

"Sorry dear." He said walking over to his wife.

Dorothy giggled at this for a minute and walked over to the throne, the china princess was sitting in it. She then knelt so that she could be at eye level with the princess.

"So, you saw him, and you talked to him, how is it that you aren't scared?" she asked.

"Now, now milady, you shouldn't ask too many personal questions." Marshall Mallow said.

"No Marshall mallow it's alright, and to be honest china princess, I'm terrified, I never know when he's going to show up, I fear for all of you guys, I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried about you guys." Dorothy said starting to cry.

"Oh, Dorothy, please don't cry it makes me upset to see you like that." The china princess said pushing herself up and walking over to the child.

She wiped some tears from the child's face. Dorothy drew back a bit, startled by the cold hand.

"Dear, I think you've done enough." Marshall Mallow said.

Dorothy didn't even say a thing, she just got up and ran, dropping the scepter she ran out of the chambers. She soon found herself out in the dark and running onto Tugg's deck.

"Ah Hello Dorothy, where…" he started to say before Dorothy cut him off.

"Anywhere but here right now." Dorothy yelled.

Tugg sighed, he knew Dorothy had snapped this time, she didn't even have the scepter. He then cast off and started heading towards the clearing.

"Dorothy, might I enquire what's wrong?" he asked.

"You may." She responded.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm frightened, not just for myself, but for everybody around me, I'm terrified as to what could happen to them because of me." Dorothy said starting to cry again.

"Dorothy, I may be only a boat but I'm over 900 years old and I have seen many people walk by my forest, many have been afraid to walk along those bricks, and bravery, well I've seen bravery, not just from other's but from you my dear. But you're brave for others, and you help others for greater good." He said.

Dorothy sniffed and rubbed her eyes, it was dark out.

"Tugg, do you have a lantern?" Dorothy asked.

"No, but I can call some fireflies if it would help." Tugg said making a whistling noise.

Dorothy smiled as many fire swarmed about them, these ones were multicolored though so she was worried.

"Don't worry my dear, these ones are completely safe, they live inside me unless I need them." Tugg said.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to edge of the boat, she then noticed the clearing.

"Tugg stop here." She said.

Tugg dropped anchor, Dorothy emptied her pockets and left them on the deck. She then disembarked and walked over to the edge of the clearing.

"Tugg keep an eye on me." She said jumping into the water.

She swam along the river between the banks for a bit. She then swam down the river. She felt herself growing calm. She felt her troubles almost wash away in the cold waters. She emerged a few minutes later and looked at Tugg. She also noticed she was being followed by fireflies. She smiled and swam over to Tugg. She then swam over to the bank and climbed up on some rocks and walked over to Tugg. Wringing out her hair she walked back up to Tugg. The fireflies swarmed around her. She smiled and giggled for a bit before walking back on to Tugg.

"There now, Feeling better?" he asked curiously.

"Much, thank you Tugg, I don't feel as afraid anymore." Dorothy said.

"Yes, going for a swim can be relaxing every now and again I assume." He said casting off.

Dorothy smiled, as she wrung out her dress she walked over to her stuff. Picking it all up and pocketing it all. When she got back to the emerald city she could see that the moon was high in the sky. It was almost a full moon, and she smiled at this, she like the full moon in her bright majesty. Dorothy then smiled as the emerald city began to come into view.

"Tugg?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes my dear girl?" he asked.

"Thanks you." She replied walking up to the front.

"Any time dear." He said chuckling.

Dorothy giggled for a bit. She then felt Tugg come to a stop. She then disembarked and walked up the grass to the emerald city. She felt much calmer now, now no longer as scared. When she got into the emerald city she immediately found a towel being thrown over her, she also felt someone pushing down on it trying to dry her off. She immediately threw her hands up and pulled at the towel. When she got it off she saw not Ellie, or even the scarecrow, but the lion.

"Dorothy I thought you promised that you wouldn't do something like this?" he said worriedly.

"Lion, I promised I wouldn't go looking for danger." Dorothy said sighing.

"No I mean a while back." He said sighing

"Lion I broke that promise when I ran at the tornado, and I consistently broke that promise several times over." Dorothy said trying to walk past him.

Dorothy found herself being pushed back by the lion, he then knelt down to be at eye level with her.

"Dorothy, everyone was worried sick, you left without the scepter, and that's your only form of protection." The lion said.

"What? Lion, I'm pretty sure I could have managed on my own, I don't think I need to carry the scepter which is quite tedious to do sometimes." Dorothy said sighing.

The lion didn't even say anything to this, he hung his head slightly defeated. He then got up and gently took her hand in his paw and led her along back to the chambers. When she got there she found everyone crowded in there waiting for her. Ellie and Aislynn immediately ran over and embraced her.

"Dorothy, please, never do something like that again, Glinda explained to us how the scepter serves as a form of protection against the jester." Ellie said starting to tear up.

Glinda then walked over to Dorothy carrying the scepter, she also had something else in her hands, a book of some sort. She handed the scepter to Dorothy and flipped through the book.

"Dorothy that was really irresponsible of you, leaving the scepter here like that." Glinda said sternly, her eyes not moving from the book.

"Glinda, like I told lion, I could have managed." Dorothy said groaning

"Dorothy, the scepter is really the only thing keeping you safe from the jester's wrath." Glinda said finally looking up.

"But what about when I'm at home? Or at school? I can't carry it everywhere." Dorothy said sighing.

Glinda sighed and looked at Dorothy sadly.

"I know my dear child, were working on that." Glinda said sounding a bit annoyed.

Just then everyone stopped still in There places as the clock struck midnight. Dorothy looked at the clock, she had been up for hours since she last blacked out. She then realized that she was tired again and yawned.

"How about we talk about this later guys?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure dear." Glinda replied.

Dorothy smiled and looked around the room. She saw Toto sleeping peacefully in the corner, she smiled at this and then took aislynn's hand and led her to their room. When she had gotten back to the room and made sure Aislynn was settled in the bed she walked into the closet and changed into a nightgown. Soon she found herself in her bed and dozing off to sleep.


	21. Birthday plans

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, etc. also as an opening remark, Welcome to the ozverse**

Dorothy awoke to the sound of the clock striking seven. She got up and stretched and looked around the room. The scepter was floating a few feet off the foot of the bed, she looked around but found that Aislynn was gone. She did however find a small note written on a piece of sketching paper. Dorothy jumped out of the bed and walked over to the note and picked it up. On it was writing that she recognized as Glinda's.

"Aislynn is safe, at library, didn't want to wake you, Love Glinda." Dorothy read aloud to herself smiling.

She then walked to the scepter and plucked it from the air. After which she walked into the close and changed into her dress, which was now quite dry, or at least drier than it was earlier this morning. She changed into it and sighed. Her birthday was now only a day away and she wondered what she was going to do for it. But she shrugged this off and decided she'd figure it out later. As she emerged from the closet she was surprised to find not just Ellie, but Glinda sitting on her bed with Toto in her lap.

"Good Morning my dear, I assume you slept well?" Glinda asked giggling.

"If by that you mean no nightmares, then yes." Dorothy said giggling.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked nervously.

"Yes Ellie?" Dorothy replied.

"Can you promise me something?" Ellie asked.

"That depends Ellie." Dorothy said sighing.

"Promise me, that no matter what happens to any of us, you will keep going on." Ellie said in sad tone.

Dorothy gasped, she then walked over to her friend and hugged her tightly.

"Ellie, I won't let anything happen to you guys, I…" Dorothy started to say.

"Promise!" Ellie shouted.

Dorothy was taken aback she had never heard Ellie shout before. She felt herself tearing up.

"I, I promise Ellie." She finally managed to stutter out.

"Thank you Dorothy." Ellie said.

Dorothy broke from the embrace and saw that Ellie was tearing up. Dorothy ran a hand through Ellie's hair. She began to tear up again and got up. She then sat down on the bed between Glinda and Ellie. She then looked at Glinda who looked at her sadly.

"Dorothy, this is going to lead to all-out war, we're ready to take the risk to bring down the jester, and we are willing to throw ourselves into the middle of danger for you." Glinda said.

"Glinda, I couldn't ask any of you do that, I don't want any of you risking your lives for me, and…" Dorothy started to say before felt Glinda clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Dorothy, you and I both know that this is too dangerous, even for you, and we will not let you risk your life alone." Glinda said removing her hand.

Dorothy sighed in defeat. She then took Toto into her lap and looked at Glinda.

"Go to the library, check on Aislynn, and let her know I'm awake." Dorothy said sighing.

Glinda nodded and picked up her wand. She then waved it and an apple appeared in Dorothy's lap next to Toto. Dorothy smiled and picked it up. She then took it and broke it in half between her hands. She chuckled and handed half of it to Ellie who smiled and took it. Dorothy took a bite out of her half and smiled as Glinda walked out of the room.

"Thank you Dorothy." Ellie said taking a bite from her half.

"No problem." Dorothy said giggling.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Aislynn came in followed by the scarecrow.

"Morning Dorothy." The scarecrow said cheerfully.

"Good morning scarecrow, good morning Aislynn." Dorothy said looking at them smiling.

"Dorothy, Glinda says that we will be returning to Kansas soon, just let her know when you're ready." Aislynn said smiling.

"Tell Glinda I'll be ready in a minute just let me get my boots on." Dorothy said smiling.

"Okay." Aislynn said running off down the hallway.

The scarecrow watched and chuckled, then he turned back to Dorothy and Ellie.

"Sweet kid, she's been giving me a run for my money recently though" he said walking over to them.

Dorothy got up and handed Toto to Ellie, she then got up and picked up her boots. She then sat back down on the bed and pulled them on.

"How so?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Though she is not smart enough to match me she is pretty knowledgeable." The Scarecrow said grinning.

Dorothy giggled at this and picked up Toto from Ellie's lap. She then picked up the scepter and set Toto down on the floor. She then helped Ellie up and they all walked together to the chambers.

"So kiddo, it's your birthday tomorrow, what do you plan to do?" the scarecrow asked curiously.

"Not sure, I'm sure I'll think of something." Dorothy said looking at them.

"But aren't you going to do something with your aunt and uncle?" Ellie asked.

"Maybe get permission to help work on the farmhouse." Dorothy replied.

"Dorothy that's boring, you can't do heavy work, not on your birthday of all days." The scarecrow said.

"Why not? Nothing in town is really open because of that tornado, and really I can't think of anything better to do." Dorothy said sighing.

"Dorothy, doing something dangerous like construction work is practically asking for trouble." Ellie said.

"Not really, I've done it before." Dorothy said giggling.

No one really decided to argue this at this point, they soon made it to the chambers and walked in. they found Aislynn and Glinda waiting for them, surprisingly Mr. and Mrs. Upland were waiting as well.

"Dorothy, How wonderful to see you again." Mr. Upland said walking over and shaking her hand.

Dorothy couldn't help but giggle at Mr. Upland's outfit, this time he was wearing a coat that looked like a patchwork quilt made out of bright and colorful patches. He was wearing a light Green Beret and pinstriped shirt and pants.

"Pleasure to see you too Mr. Upland." Dorothy replied.

"Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?" Ellie asked curiously yet at the same time sounding rather excited.

"Well dear, that's the good news, Mr. Alistair is looking for teachers and…" Mrs. Upland started to say before her husband cut her off.

"And I've accepted the teaching job." Mr. Upland said with a large grin on his face.

Ellie walked up to her dad and hugged him tightly. She approved of her parent's decision one hundred percent, and this way she wouldn't have to leave Dorothy's side after she began school again. Dorothy smiled and looked Glinda who was now walking over with Aislynn.

"Well my dear, are you ready to return to Kansas?" Glinda asked smiling.

"Yes, I think I am Glinda." Dorothy said bending down and picking up Toto.

"Well then my dear, hand Toto to Ellie and hold on." Glinda said chuckling.

Dorothy nodded and obeyed. She then immediately felt herself lurch forward. Colors began whizzing by her once more, and soon she was beginning to feel dizzy and sick. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the stop by tightening her grip on the scepter. She then felt her feet hit hardwood floor. She jammed the end of the scepter against the ground which stopped her from falling over. She quickly surveyed her surroundings. She saw her aunt and uncle running over to her, and she realized she was in the ruins of the farm house.

"Dorothy!" They both shouted in unison.

Dorothy staggered a bit and caught her breath. She then looked up again and saw Ellie, Aislynn and Mr. and Upland now running up to her as well.

"Dorothy! Oh hello Mr. and Mrs. Upland." Auntie Em said turning to face them.

"Hello again Mrs. Gale, and Mr. Gale, it's a pleasure to see you two again." Mr. Upland said smiling.

"So, teaching job, sounds familiar." Uncle Henry said chuckling.

Dorothy giggled at this and looked at Aislynn, she noticed that she was going through the wreckage.

"Aislynn, please get away from the house it's far too dangerous." Dorothy said.

Aislynn turned around and pulled something out of the wreckage. She then ran over to Dorothy and handed it to her. Dorothy gasped at what she was handed. It was a photograph of her with her parents, the last one she had taken with her parents. She began to tear up, this brought back memories to her.

"Dorothy? Oh, oh my." Auntie Em said gasping.

"I remember this picture." Dorothy said as a tear dripped down it.

"Dorothy, please, I'm sorry if I…" Aislynn started to say before Dorothy cut her off.

"No ace, it's okay." Dorothy said putting the picture in her dress pocket.

Aislynn hugged Dorothy tightly, she in turn ran her hand through Aislynn's hair. Aislynn really did remind her of herself when she was younger. Dorothy smiled and giggled. Toto then ran up to them and barked a few times. Dorothy giggled and broke from the embrace to pick him up. As she did he licked her on the face like he usually did, making her giggle. Ellie then walked over to the ruins and went to a wall.

"So that's where my sword ended up." She said picking it and strapping it to her belt.

Dorothy smiled at Ellie, who walked over and took Aislynn's hand, leading her away from the wreckage of the house. Dorothy then walked over to her aunt and uncle who smiled at her.

"So what do you want to do for your birthday tomorrow?" Uncle Henry asked chuckling.

"I want you guys to work on the house, I think I've caused enough stress as it is" Dorothy said sighing and setting Toto back down on the ground.

Her aunt and uncle looked at her strangely, her aunt then came over and knelt down so she could be at eye level with her niece.

"Dorothy, surely there's something else you want to do tomorrow, I mean it is your birthday." Auntie Em said sounding surprised.

"Not really auntie Em, for once, just this once on my birthday I want you guys to continue on like any other day." Dorothy said smiling.

"Are you sure?" Uncle Henry asked.

Dorothy nodded, her aunt and uncle looked at each other and sighed, they weren't going to argue with her not this time.

"Dorothy, why don't you take Ellie and Aislynn to the park in town or something?" Auntie Em suggested

Dorothy nodded and walked over to her friends. As she led them away auntie Em sighed and motioned for Mr. and Mrs. Upland to come back over. When they rejoined them Mr. Upland looked at her curiously.

"Do you two need any help?" Mr. Upland asked.

"Well yes, and no, Dorothy seems to not want to do anything for her birthday, she wants us to continue trying to fix the house." Em said sadly.

"What's so bad about that? Our Glinda was the same way around her age." Mrs. Upland said.

"Quite right dear, and I remember it like it was almost yesterday." Mr. Upland replied.

"Well I don't like it, there's got to be something we can do." Em said sighing.

"Well you could surprise her in some way." Mr. Upland suggested.

"Yea, sure, but how?" uncle henry asked.

"Well you could get a lot of help and try to finish the house." Mrs. Upland suggested.

"In a day!?" Both Em and Henry asked in unison.

"Hey your niece with the help of a ton of other people built a boat in a matter of hours, so why not?" Mr. Upland asked chuckling.

Henry looked at his wife and shrugged.

"But where would find that much help?" auntie Em asked curiously.

"Ask around, I'm sure that girl has a lot of friends." Mrs. Upland replied.

"Well, there isn't a person in this town that doesn't love her, well give or take a few fellow students." Uncle Henry responded after thinking about it for a second.

"Splendid!" Mr. Upland shouted.

"Yes, that's good and all but how would we get everyone's attention?" Auntie Em asked.

"Attention for what?" came the voice of the sheriff from behind them.

"Oh hello officer Grey." Auntie Em said.

"Morning Em, morning Henry, and Hello Mr. and Mrs. Upland, Dorothy told me you two were back." He said.

"Hello officer." They both said in unison.

"What were you guys talking about?" Officer Grey asked curiously.

Auntie Em explained the situation to him and he nodded at their predicament.

"Well, we could call a town meeting." He suggested.

"But Dorothy always comes with us to them, you know that." Em said sighing.

"But it was always her and Toto, now she's got some friends to watch, and that child to take care of, and the town meetings have never really been kid's stuff." He said.

"Good point, but what about Ellie? Shouldn't we let her in on the plan?" Henry asked curiously.

"We can tell Ellie about it tonight." Mr. Upland said chuckling.

"Fair enough, the one thing I'm worried about though is that jester coming to ruin it." Henry said sounding concerned.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hide out._

The jester was looking at the scene in a crystal ball he had made up. He wasn't grinning wickedly as one would expect but he was frowning.

"So, it's the farm girl's birthday tomorrow, that's just great, even me with my sense of morality would never hurt someone on their birthday." He said sighing.

He took out the wand and flicked it. The crystal then switched to the image of Dorothy who was walking along the road with her friends. He smiled and whistled loudly. The door to the room then burst open and a flying monkey with a light purple Mohawk ran in and saluted.

"Take at least twenty of your soldiers and that weird one of yours to Kansas, give them a good scare, and just get rid of that weird one of yours." He said sternly.

The monkey saluted and flew off out of the room. A few moments later he was seen with several flying monkeys. They were carrying a noticeable struggling burlap sack along with them. The jester smiled wickedly as the monkeys disappeared into the sky.

"So Miss Gale, you're in for quite an attack." He said Cackling wickedly.

_Meanwhile back in Kansas._

When they got to the park Dorothy immediately lied down on the grass underneath one of the trees. She was joined by Toto who sat down on her lap and watched as some birds flew by. Ellie then walked over and rested against the looking at the view while Aislynn sat down on the ground and rested her head on Dorothy's legs.

"I like this park, we should come here more often." Aislynn said sighing.

"I love it as well Dorothy I agree with Aislynn." Ellie said giggling.

"You know, on days when it snows, it seems as if the entire school splits itself into two teams and has a large snowball fight." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Sounds like fun." Aislynn said.

"I don't know, I've never participated." Dorothy said making Ellie and Aislynn gasp in surprise.

"You've never participated in a snowball fight?" they both asked in unison.

"No, I have however made several snowman." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, snowball fights are fun, I had one with the rest of the girls once, didn't last long granted the fact that I'm the youngest." Ellie said giggling.

"And I had one with my grandfather and the maids once, it was fun." Aislynn said giggling as well.

Toto then got up and walked over to Ellie and barked a few times.

"I thought you had gotten over that habit." Ellie said sighing.

Ellie the sat down next to Dorothy and pulled of her shoes, surrendering them to Toto. She then leaned her head against the tree and looked up at the sky.

"You know, it's really relaxing here." Dorothy said sighing and lying the scepter down on the ground next to her.

"Yes it is, but you see that hill over there?" Dorothy asked pointing into the distance.

"Yea, you said you had gone there several times." Aislynn reminded Dorothy.

"I did? Okay I forgot I did, well yea it's relaxing." Dorothy said smiling.

Ellie giggled at this for a bit and then squinted at the sky. Dorothy looked at her worriedly.

"Ellie is something wrong?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes, don't you think those birds flying in the distance look eerily familiar?" Ellie asked worriedly.

Dorothy looked out and squinted, in the distance she saw several things flying in their general direction. She gasped when they got close enough to be seen. Dorothy then heard a scream she looked and saw a women pointing at the sky in fright. Aislynn shot up and looked at the sky and screamed as well. Dorothy picked up the scepter and got up. Ellie stood up as well and drew her sword.

"Ace stay behind me and Ellie!" Dorothy Shouted at her.

One the monkeys spotted them and shrieked, it then swooped down at them and quickly rose back up knocking them off balance. Dorothy swung the scepter out at them and hit one in mid swoop. It shook its head in a daze then lunged at Dorothy catching her arm causing her to drop the scepter.

"Let her go!" Ellie screamed swinging her sword at the monkey.

This caused him the screech and fly away quickly scratching Dorothy's wrist in the process. Dorothy winced in pain but lunged for the scepter. Getting it in her grasp she shot several balls of light shooting out of it at them. She then heard a gunshot and all the monkey's screeched and disappeared into the sky. Dorothy sighed in relief and slumped back against the tree. She saw the sheriff and her aunt and uncle running towards her.

"Dorothy! Oh sweet Jesus one of them scratched her." Auntie Em said gasping.

"Hey look over there, those things dropped a sack, let's see what's inside!" came the voice of Alex from the across the park.

Dorothy looked up and saw Alex running towards a burlap sack with some his cronies. She quickly got up and ran after them as they were untying the sack and started kicking it.

"Hey!" she screamed running at them.

"Oh no, now what do you want, and who messed up your wrist?" he asked chuckling.

She glared at him and he shrunk back, she then approached the sack and opened it the rest of the way. In it was a flying monkey, smaller than any she had ever seen. It was crying and wearing what looked like a tattered butler's outfit. He winced when he saw the light and tried to go further back into the sack.

"Hey, come here little guy, I won't hurt you." She said sweetly.

She carefully held her hand out to him, he looked and saw that her wrist was injured.

"P-promise?" he asked, making everyone gasp.

Dorothy smiled and gestured for Aislynn and Ellie to come over.

"I promise I won't hurt you, oh my, your wings." She said gasping at them.

They were in quite a state, they bent in an odd shape.

"Yes, they'll mend, they always do." He said now knowing that this new person would not hurt him.

"I'm Dorothy, and these are my friends, Ellie and Aislynn, and these guys that were just kicking the bag are leaving!" she said sternly.

"I'm Finley." The monkey said coming out of the bag.

Alex turned and ran away at this point followed by his cronies. The sheriff then slowly approached with his pistol raised. Finley noticed this and shrunk back.

"Officer Grey, put the gun down, this one won't hurt us." She said setting down the scepter.

Toto then ran over and saw the monkey, he started to growl but stopped when he noticed it was injured. Dorothy lifted Finley out of the sack and held him in her arms like a mother would a child.

"You're a cute little one aren't you?" she asked.

"What?" he asked looking at her.

"I think you're cute." She repeated.

"Well that's a first." He said.

"What do you mean?" Dorothy asked looking at the creature curiously.

"I've always been referred to as a freak, or if you're him, the weird one." He said shuddering.

"Who's him?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"I think he means the jester, since they just dropped him here during their ambush." Ellie said.

"Dorothy, we should really take you to the hospital, who knows what those things might have been carrying." The sheriff said regarding her wrist.

"Oh, don't worry, I think it is my duty to tell you one hundred percent that none of us, are rabid." He said looking up at him.

"So it just needs to be bound?" Ellie asked.

"They've done it to tons of people, so yes, maybe disinfected now that you've been handling the sack and have been on the ground but you really shouldn't have to worry, I mean at least they didn't bite you that would be a whole other problem." He said shuddering again.

Dorothy nodded and smiled.

"Ellie can you hold Finley for me?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure Dorothy." Ellie said putting her sword back on her belt.

Dorothy smiled and handed Finley off to Ellie, he shuddered nervously a bit and looked at Dorothy as she picked up the scepter.

"Auntie Em, see if you can splint Finley's wings, I'm going to head to the hospital and see if they can dress this for me." Dorothy said smiling.

"No please I'll be fine, they've mended perfectly fine in the past, just please don't touch them I can't stand pain." Finley said in a frightened tone.

"Okay then, Ellie, have your sister bring you to Oz, see if she can help him with her magic." Dorothy said starting to walk away.

As Dorothy walked in the direction of the hospital a few minutes later she walked right into doctor Maxwell himself.

"Ah Dorothy, the receptionist heard a gunshot and I was wondering if you would turn up… Oh dear." He said regarding her wrist.

"Long story, can you disinfect it and wrap it up for me?" she asked hoping he wouldn't ask anything more.

_Meanwhile back at the jester's hideout_

The jester was chuckling at the crystal ball and watching as Dorothy and Doctor Maxwell walked to the hospital.

"Well that gave her a good shaking up I think, and now that weird talking monkey is with them and out of my hair, was a terrible servant anyway." He said as one of the monkeys walked up to him and tapped the crystal ball.

"Hey, no, no touching." He said pushing the monkey away, "Anyways putting him in the sack means there's no way he can tell them where to go to find me." He said laughing wickedly.

"And soon he will be in Oz, probably get questioned and die, but I can't get our hopes up." he added now cackling, "And anyways it's not like that, goody goody Glinda will ever find me." He added.

_Meanwhile about an hour later in Oz._

Glinda had brought Ellie and Finley to Oz, she was about to repair his wings when he jumped out of Ellie's arms and climbed up to a shelf. Ellie had now been spending most of the hour trying to get him down while Glinda went to find a ladder.

"Finley please come down from there!" Ellie said

"No thanks, I think I like it up here on this shelf, now please go away before I get aggressive." Finley said.

Ellie sighed as her sister walked into the room.

"Any luck getting him down?" Glinda asked curiously.

"What do you think?" Ellie asked referring to a shelf

"I couldn't find a ladder, the window washers and the painters are all busy to day it seems." Glinda said sighing.

"Well then, can you bring Dorothy here?" Ellie asked sighing.

Ellie had hardly finished sighing before Dorothy fell into her arms panting and heaving. She looked as if she was about to vomit this time.

"You know sis I really hate you sometimes." Ellie said giggling.

"I know, but you're my sister so I have to tease you every now and again." Glinda said giggling.

"You guys need to give me more warning before you bring me here so suddenly." Dorothy finally said looking at Ellie.

"Dorothy can you please try and get Finley down?" Ellie asked pointing at the shelf.

Dorothy looked at the shelf and saw Finley somewhat cowering in the corner of the shelf. She carefully set down the scepter and walked over so that she was standing still within his sights but just under the shelf.

"Finley please come down." Dorothy asked in a sweet tone.

"No, she'll hurt me." He said sounding a bit like a scared child.

"Finley I promise she won't hurt you, I trust Glinda with my life." Dorothy said sweetly.

This made Finley look up over the shelf at Glinda.

"So, you're Glinda? He talked about you a lot, I think he was attracted to you somehow." He said.

"I'm flattered but the jester is not our friend, he is more or less a deadly enemy." She said frowning.

"So, let me get this straight, you guys don't like the jester either?" he asked.

"No, of course not, what is there to like?" Ellie asked.

"His power? The fact that he has allies out of the flying monkeys?" he started to list.

"Finley please just come down, I promise we'll get you fixed up, and even out of that butlers outfit if you'd like." Dorothy said.

Finley thought about this for a moment then climbed down from the shelf and jumped into Dorothy's arms. Dorothy looked at Glinda and nodded. Glinda then took her wand and waved it over his wings. Both her wand and his wings began to glow slightly, the wings were beginning to go back to their normal shape and stature. When they had stopped glowing Dorothy looked down at Finley and giggled. He was now cowering in fear and had buried his face into Dorothy's dress.

"H-has she s-started?" Finley asked stammering.

"She's just finished." Dorothy said giggling.

Finley looked up and then turned his head to look at his wings which were now completely mended. He smiled and patted them a few times.

"Um… do you mind if I, um?" he said taking his hand and gesturing around the room.

"Not at all" Dorothy said.

Finley laughed and flew out of Dorothy's arms, he did a few laps around the room he then came down in front of them and bowed. They clapped for a bit then Glinda walked over.

"Would you like me to get you some fresh clothes?" she asked giggling.

"Yes please madam, actually if it's all the same to you I'd like to get a new uniform." He said.

"Well, Dorothy, you and Ellie find something to do, I'll take Finley around to see if there's anything he likes." Glinda said smiling at them.

"Have fun sis." Ellie said walking over to the scepter and picking it up.

"Ellie, please be careful with that, I hardly know how to use it." Dorothy said nervously.

"What about those balls of light?" Ellie asked

"Harmless, just disorienting, it's the only thing I'm really able to do with that thing, during the last battle with the jester the scepter more or less took on a mind of its own." Dorothy said sighing.

"Oh." Ellie said setting it down.

"Right, anyways what do you want to do? Wait a minute, are Aislynn and Toto here?" Dorothy asked concerned.

"No they're at the Alistair's residence with your aunt for now, but she's going back to her house with her maids for dinner." Ellie replied.

Dorothy sighed in relief and sat down on the floor. She then gestured for Ellie to do the same. As she did she put her hands on one of Dorothy's boots and began to tug on it.

"Hey, why are you doing?" Dorothy asked giggling as she let her friend pull her boots off.

"You didn't look comfortable." Ellie said giggling.

"Thanks Ellie, I guess you're right, but my wrist is still sore from the scratch from earlier." Dorothy said referring to the gauze wrapped around her wrist.

"Does it hurt?" Ellie asked.

"Not really, like I said it's just sore." Dorothy said lying back on the floor.

Ellie playfully poked at Dorothy's foot making her giggle. She then sat up and picked up the scepter, and squeezed it tightly. The scepter then began to glow and Dorothy felt the soreness in her wrist leave. She looked at it and unwrapped the gauze. She gasped as she saw the scratch fading away.

"That's one trick I forgotten that this thing could do." Dorothy said chuckling.

Glinda then walked in smiling.

"That was fast sis, has Finley chosen a new outfit?" Ellie asked.

"Well, may I introduce, the newly dressed Finley." Glinda said stepping to the side.

Finley was now wearing a dark blue bellhop's outfit. He bowed and walked over to Dorothy.

"Huh, not what I was expecting, don't you think people will mistake you a servant?" Dorothy asked.

"No? That's exactly what I want, I've been a servant my entire life and because you rescued me I shall serve you loyally." He said.

Dorothy looked at Finley curiously, she couldn't deny him, not after what she had done for him. He was such a sweet animal but she didn't think she could bring him home could she? No of course not a talking flying primate would attract a lot attention. She frowned and look at Glinda sadly.

"Glinda, would you mind letting Finley stay in the palace?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure dear, where do you want him?" Glinda asked.

"Let him roam around I guess, just let the others know that he's here and tell them that he's friendly, and, oh my I feel dizzy." Dorothy said placing a hand on her forehead.

Glinda's wand had started glowing dimly, the clock then struck one o'clock and Dorothy passed out into Ellie's arms.

"Sis what did you do that for?" Ellie asked now concerned.

"because she used the scepter to heal herself, this is the second time she's had that happen, the first time the scepter did it on its own, the second time she pretty much willed it to, she just used her own energy to heal herself, didn't you notice that she began to grow pale?" Glinda asked as Finley walked over to Dorothy and placed a hand on her forehead.

"She's cold now." He said.

"Yes, well that happens when someone expels their own energy to perform a task such as that." Glinda said.

"Glinda, we should take her to her room, or at least you should, I'll go have Brianna make Dorothy a thermos of soup." Ellie said gently setting Dorothy down on the floor and then getting up and running off.

"When will she awaken again?" Finley asked curiously.

"Not sure, I don't know what the extent of the scratch was that she had, but when I noticed it wasn't there I immediately cast a spell on her so that she could regain all of her energy back completely." Glinda replied.

"Well, that was foolish of her." he said.

"She doesn't really know how to use the scepter though that's the thing, she's not a sorceress like me or one of the other girls from my army, and she's just an average girl who's had some really bad experiences in her life." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and taking her in her arms.

"Should I grab these things?" Finley asked curiously referring to Dorothy's boots and the scepter.

"If you would Finley, grab them and follow me." Glinda said walking out of the room.

Within a few minutes they had made it to Dorothy's room, Glinda pushed open the door and walked over to Dorothy's bed and rested her gently on it. She then walked over to the closet and went in, she emerged a few seconds later carrying a lavender color nightgown. She then took her wand and flicked it. The nightgown and the dress that Dorothy was wearing were immediately exchanged with each other. Glinda chuckled and set the dress down on the dresser.

"Finley, lean the scepter against the foot of the bed please." Glinda said.

Finley nodded and obeyed, the scepter then began to glow again and started floating up to its usual position.

"Why did it do that?" Finley asked taking off the hat and scratching the top of his head.

"It's protecting her, and it always does that." Glinda said snapping her fingers and causing the dresser to open.

Glinda withdrew the book from the dresser and opened it, she flipped through the pages until she got to one that she could read.

"What's that?" Finley asked curiously.

"It's a magical book that tells you the whole truth about people, it's really painful to read though because it reveals all the lies, all the truths, and even the history of the person you're searching for answers about." Glinda said.

"Sounds dangerous." He said.

Glinda nodded and sighed, she then got up and replaced the book.

"What did you read?" he asked.

"Nothing relatively important, oh there you are Ellie." Glinda said smiling.

"Glinda, Brianna will have some soup ready for her in maybe an hour or two, and I contacted Mr. and Mrs. Gale as well, they want to talk to me and you about something." Ellie said.

Glinda nodded and looked at Finley. She then nodded again, got up and walked over to her sister. Finley nodded and flew over to the window. Soon Glinda and Ellie were no longer in sight and Finley was staring out the window.

"I've always heard about the Land of Oz from the jester's rants, but I never imagined it would be this beautiful." He said to himself.

_Meanwhile in Kansas._

Aislynn had been brought to her manor for her safety, she was now in the yard throwing a ball and watching as Toto chased it. She giggled when Toto came back and rested the ball on the ground her feet.

"Toto, I wish there was something we could do for Dorothy for her birthday tomorrow." Aislynn said kneeling down and petting Toto who now looked at her curiously.

"What? I'm just a kid, what can I do?" Aislynn asked looking at Toto.

Toto barked and walked around to the back of the house, Aislynn being curious followed her. Toto walked all the way to the large shed where her grandfather kept his hot air balloon.

"Toto I can't get in there, Dorothy has the only key." Aislynn said.

Toto barked and walked over to a small window that was a few feet away from the door. Aislynn sighed and walked over to Toto.

"I love your enthusiasm but there is no way we can get in." Aislynn said picking him up.

Toto licked Aislynn on the face and barked. She giggled and rubbed her sleeve against her face and cheek. Just then they heard Jessica's voice coming from the house.

"Aislynn, come inside, dinner will be ready in a few minutes!" she called.

"Coming!" Aislynn yelled setting down Toto and running back towards the front of the house.

When she got there she found Jessica waiting for her on the porch. She noticed the looked on aislynn's face and sighed.

"What's wrong now?" Jessica asked curiously.

"It's about Dorothy, it's her birthday tomorrow and I want to do something for her, but what can I do? I'm just a kid." Aislynn said.

"Ace, don't be like that, you know you're a brilliant child and you can do a lot of things, why don't you draw a picture or something?" Jessica asked.

"Because, I want to give her something that she'll love, but I don't know what." Aislynn said walking into the house followed by Toto.

"Ace, please, think hard about it, what would you want most of all on your birthday?" Jessica asked.

"Well I'd want something that shows my friends really care about me, but hear me out, Dorothy doesn't seem to want to do anything for her birthday at all, she wants her aunt and uncle to continue to build the house instead of doing something nice like going out to lunch or going on a day trip." Aislynn said.

"I know ace, I've already talked to Mr. and Mrs. Gale on the phone, and they called about a half hour ago to tell me about a very special plan for tomorrow." Jessica said excitedly.

"Can I hear about it?" Aislynn asked.

"Ace, you're going to be a diversion." Jessica said giggling.

"So I'm supposed to distract her while her aunt and uncle do whatever it is they plan on doing?" Aislynn asked for clarification.

"Exactly, you and Ellie are going to keep her distracted for most of the day." Jessica said smiling.

"I can do that, hey I just had an idea." Aislynn said making a popping noise with her tongue.

"Oh I love it when you do that, it means you've thought of something and you think it's a cunning plan." Jessica said chuckling.

"I want to take her on a picnic, call Mr. and Mrs. Gale again and ask them what Dorothy likes in terms of picnic food." Aislynn said.

"Brilliant, I'll do that tonight." Jessica said giggling, "anyways, come on let's get you washed up for dinner." She added taking aislynn's hand.

"Awe jess!" Aislynn said in a complaining tone.

Toto barked and Jessica giggled as well.

_Later at the Alistair residence_

"So do we have a plan?" Henry asked Glinda through the mirror.

"I guess so, what about Aislynn?" Glinda asked looking at him.

"That was just her maid on the phone, Aislynn wants to take Dorothy on a picnic tomorrow." Em said walking into the room.

"So that's the plan then?" Henry asked.

"I guess so" Em replied.

"I can take them here and bring them to a nice place for a picnic if you'd like." Glinda offered.

"Sure, if you want to." Henry said smiling.

"But do you really think you can finish the farm house in one day?" Ellie asked concerned.

"If Dorothy and her friends could build a boat in a matter of hours I'm sure we can fix a farm house." Em said assuredly.

"Well if you're sure, I can send the girls to help if you'd like." Glinda offered.

"I think we'll need all the help we can get Glinda, thanks." Henry said as the image began to fade from the mirror.

"So, we have a plan then henry?" Em asked smiling.

"Yep." He replied getting up.

"Well then tomorrow should be fun." Em said chuckling.

_Back in Oz in Dorothy's room._

Dorothy awoke the sound of the clock striking six. She sat up and looked around the room. She found Finley sitting on the dresser looking out the window at the setting sun. She smiled and looked down to see that she was now wearing a lavender colored nightdress. She stretched and yawned a bit, she now felt revitalized and energetic. Finley noticed this and turned around to see her stretching.

"Ah good, finally you're awake, and finally I can relax" he said handing her back her dress and shirt.

Dorothy took them and smiled.

"Finley, there's one thing I want you to know, and that's that you shouldn't worry about me." Dorothy said sighing.

"And why not? You rescued me from some people, you got my wings mended, and you basically have given me a new start on life." Finley said chuckling.

"Fair enough." Dorothy said getting up and walking into the bathroom.

She emerged a few minutes later not surprised to find Ellie sitting on her bed. She was however surprised to find her carrying a tray.

"Evening Ellie." Dorothy said walking over to the bed.

"Brianna made you some soup and a few other things for dinner." Ellie said not even acknowledging the greeting.

"Tell her I say thanks." Dorothy said giggling and sitting down one the bed next to Ellie.

"Dorothy, whatever you do, don't use the scepter to heal yourself again until you know how to control it, my sister said that what you did to heal yourself drained your energy, so she cast a spell on you to put you to sleep, and she mentioned that when you woke up you would feel a lot better, energetic and whatnot." Ellie said handing the tray to Dorothy.

"Thanks Ellie, and your sister was right, I do feel better." Dorothy said taking the lid off the tray.

On the tray was a thermos which Dorothy opened and sniffed, in it was some chicken soup. She smiled and set it back down. There was also a few sandwiches, a few pieces of what looked like banana-nut bread, which she offered a piece of too Finley, an apple, and a small bowl and a spoon for the soup.

"thanks." Finley said nibbling at it.

"No problem, Dorothy said taking the thermos and emptying some of its contents into the bowl.

"Want some Ellie?" Dorothy said offering her the thermos.

"No thanks Dorothy." Ellie said picking up the apple and looking at it, "Funny thing to include with one's dinner." She added placing back down.

"Not really, I love apples." Dorothy said giggling and taking a spoonful of soup,

They giggled at this for a bit and then Ellie let Dorothy eat in silence. After about twenty minutes Dorothy had finished the soup, the apple, and one of the sandwiches before picking the tray up and offering the rest to Finley who politely declined.

"You sure? I don't think the jester ever gave you food as good as this." Dorothy said smiling.

"Food as good? No, actually giving me any type of food on a daily basis? No as well, I'm used to eating small meals when I get them." Finley said.

"I'd expect that from the jester, Finley, at least take another piece of the banana-nut bread." Dorothy said offering him a piece.

Finley sighed and took it and started nibbling at it. Dorothy sighed and handed the tray to Ellie. She then got up and walked over to the scepter, plucking it from the air. She then walked over to the door and pulled on her boots. When this was accomplished she went back over to the bed and sat down.

"Ellie, bring the tray back to Brianna with my thanks." Dorothy said.

Ellie nodded and got up, she then walked out of the room leaving Dorothy and Finley alone.

"Finley, how long were you a captive of the jester?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I don't know really, I was more or less a captive of the rest of the flying monkeys." He said sadly.

"Why was that?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Notice that I'm smaller than most of them and more importantly I have the ability to talk." He said frustrated.

"Oh, right, didn't realize that, actually why can you talk compared to the others?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I don't know, and if there was a reason, I don't remember." He said.

"Fair enough, you can go back to eating if you'd like." Dorothy said.

"Thanks, and thanks for rescuing me." He said.

"No problem." Dorothy said giggling.

They both sat in for the most part silence for a few minutes before Ellie came back. She walked over to Dorothy and sat down next to her.

"Glinda says she can send us to the Alistair residence if you'd like, your aunt and uncle apparently have a town meeting and they want us to watch Aislynn while it's going on." Ellie said smiling, "They said that she had a good time with her maids, and she played with Toto for a while." She added.

"A town meeting? But I haven't missed one since that tornado that brought me here!" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Dorothy, remember Aislynn is for the most part your responsibility, anyways it's not like you're really going to miss much, according to your uncle most of the town meetings are the same, planning committee, fix the town, etcetera, etcetera." Ellie said.

"Well, I guess I'll have to miss this one, the town meetings are no place for a child like her, they're hardly a place for a child like me, anyways, tell Glinda to give me time to let my food settle before we go or it could get messy." Dorothy said giggling.

They both laughed at this for a minute for Finley cut in.

"What am I going to do while you're gone?" he asked sounding concerned.

"You could wander around the city I guess, or you could go fly around the library, I know that has a lot of room in it." Dorothy suggested.

"That's not a bad idea, maybe he could help me with these books." Came the voice of the scarecrow from the doorway.

He was carrying a large stack of books and seemed to be staggering under the weight of them. Dorothy giggled and got off the bed. She then ran over to the scarecrow and took some of the books from the pile.

"Your majesty, please tell me you're not trying to read then entire library again." Ellie said smiling

"No Ellie, I gave up on that a long time ago, it would take me at leave well over one hundred years to accomplish It." he said chuckling.

"Good evening your majesty." Finley said bowing.

The scarecrow sighing in annoyance.

"Arise and please don't bow to me, you're a friend here and I don't want my friends to bow to me, and please call me scarecrow, your majesty is just, well it's too formal." He said.

"Yes sir." He said flying over to them and holding his arms out to take the books.

Dorothy smiled and handed a few of them to him. They then all walked towards the library.

"So, Finley, I've been told that you once were captive to the jester." He said.

"That is correct, and I never want to go back again." He said

They all laughed about this for a moment before they got to the library. Dorothy smiled as they walked in and she set down the books on a nearby table. She then took the scepter out from under her arm and tightened her grip around it.

"Scarecrow, it's almost time for Ellie and me to return to Kansas, keep an eye on Finley till I return." Dorothy said smiling.

"Yes mam." The scarecrow said saluting.

Dorothy giggled and grabbed Ellie's hand. They then walked to the chambers where Glinda was waiting patiently for them.

"Ah, Dorothy, Feeling better I assume?" She asked chuckling.

"Much, thanks Glinda, anyways, I'm ready." Dorothy said bracing herself.

Glinda nodded and waved her wand. Dorothy felt herself lurch forward and saw the colors whizzing past her, she then felt dizzy and a little sick. She then felt her feet make contact with the floor. She then fell forward and threw her arms out to catch herself as she hit the floor. The end of the scepter squeaked against the floor. She struggled to her feet and began to try and catch her breath.

"I really hate when we do that." Dorothy said turning around to face Ellie.

"You've said that before, and there isn't anything I can do to stop you from getting sick." Ellie said.

Dorothy then heard the sound of footsteps running into the room. She turned around to see Aislynn, Donna, Kelly and Toto running into the room.

"Evening." Dorothy said giggling.

"Hello Dorothy." Kelly said.

"Dorothy, my uncle had some great news earlier, we think we've managed to find enough people so school can open on time." Donna said running over.

"That's good, I can't wait personally." Dorothy said.

Aislynn then ran over and pulled Dorothy into a tight hug. Dorothy returned the embrace and smiled. The clock in the living room then struck eight.

"Aislynn, I think we should get you in bed, is she staying in Kelly's room?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, she…" Donna started to say before Aislynn cut her off.

"But I'm not sleepy." She said.

"Aislynn, please, I'll let you bring a book or two." Dorothy said teasingly.

"Dorothy, please don't tease me, alright I'll go." She said turning around and following Kelly back to the bedroom.

"Dorothy, you and Ellie will be using the guest room, my uncle had me set it up for you two earlier." Donna said smiling.

"Thanks donna, I really appreciated this." Dorothy said bending over and picking up Toto.

"It's no problem, anyways, let me show you to the guest room." Donna said taking Dorothy's hand and leading her along the way.

Dorothy followed as did Ellie. Toto barked and nuzzled his nose into Dorothy's arm. When they got there Donna pushed open the door and revealed the guest room which was set up for both her and Ellie. Donna then let go of Dorothy's wrist. Ellie walked into the room and sat down on one of the beds.

"Thanks Donna, this is really appreciated." Ellie said.

Dorothy nodded and put Toto down on the floor. He then ran over to a chair and jumped up on it. Dorothy then leaned the scepter against the wall next to the door. She then walked over to the chair and moved Toto off of it. She then sat down and pulled off her boots. She began to feel drowsy. She had a feeling that her revitalized feeling would wear off eventually.

"I think I'm going to turn in now if it's okay with you guys." Dorothy said getting up and walking over to the bed that Ellie wasn't sitting on.

"I'll go get some books from my uncle's study for Aislynn to read, night Dorothy." Donna said walking off.

"Dorothy, I'll leave for now so that you can go to sleep, goodnight." Ellie said walking over and kissing Dorothy on the forehead in a manner similar to that of her sister.

Dorothy smiled and lied back in the bed and after a few minutes she was asleep again.

**Wow that was a long chapter, sorry it took so long to get it out. I hope you enjoy, the next chapter is Dorothy's birthday, what do you think will happen?**


	22. Dorothy's Birthday Pt 1

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, etc. also as a quick note i would like you to know that in order to keep this from going to too long, i've decided to split this into two parts, the first session, and the second session.**

That morning Dorothy awoke to the sound of the clock striking seven. She got up and rubbed her eyes smelled the air. It was full of the smell of one of her favorite breakfasts. Pancakes made from scratch, she got up and stretched. She found that the scepter was now floating a few feet away from her. She smiled and sat down on the chair. She then pulled on her boots and plucked the scepter out of the air. She then walked out of the room. The scent had gotten stronger, the cooking was still being done. She arrived to the kitchen to find her aunt, Aislynn, Ellie, and even Toto covered in a bit of flower. Dorothy now smelt some bacon being cooked as well. Toto then turned around and saw Dorothy, and he barked Ellie turned around and ran over to Dorothy hugging her tightly.

"Happy birthday Dorothy." Ellie said.

"Thanks Ellie, where's Uncle Henry?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He's already at the farmhouse ready to continue building, after I finish with your breakfast I'm heading down there as well." Em said looking back and smiling.

"Thanks auntie Em." Dorothy said as Donna walked into the room carrying a box tied together with actual ribbon.

"Happy birthday Dorothy, it's from Kelly and me." She said handing her the box.

"Donna you guys didn't have to get me anything." Dorothy said taking the box and walking over to the kitchen table.

Ellie and Aislynn both followed her over to the table and watched as she began to untie the ribbon. When she lifted the lid from the box and looked in she smiled and pulled out a nice wrist watch with a blue strap that matched her dress. She had Ellie help her put it on and then walked over to Donna and hugged her.

"Thanks Donna." Dorothy said happily.

"Think nothing of it, I got one similar to that on my birthday." She replied pulling out a similar watch with a strap that looked like it had been decorated during an art class.

"Dorothy, breakfast is ready, help yourself, I'm going to head to the house." Em said dusting herself off.

"Okay auntie Em, maybe I'll drop by later to help." Dorothy said.

"No thank you Dorothy, not on your birthday." Em said.

"Anyways where would I go? A building site is no place for me." Aislynn said.

"Dorothy, Aislynn does bring up a good point, you may be fit for construction but Aislynn and I are still younger than you." Ellie said.

Dorothy sighed in defeat, she didn't want fight with her friends not at this point. Dorothy then walked over to the stove and got herself some of the pancakes. She then took a piece of bacon and dropped it on the floor for Toto. She offered some to her friends but they declined.

"We've already eaten, this is specifically for you." They said in unison.

Dorothy sighed and smiled weakly taking a forkful. She loved the taste of pancakes made from scratch, it always had a slightly better taste than the premade batters you could buy in stores. She could taste buttermilk in it as well as a small hint of cinnamon. She sighed in delight, she knew the recipe well and it brought back an old memory.

_Dorothy, could you get me two eggs from the bowl?" Dorothy's mother asked._

"_Yes momma, but why?" Dorothy asked walking over to a large bowl of brown chicken eggs._

"_I'm making pancakes from scratch." She said._

"_Oh momma those are my favorite, can I help?" Dorothy asked curiously walking over._

"_Yes, you can get me some butter to grease the pan with." She said taking the eggs from Dorothy._

_Dorothy smiled and ran over to a large box, opening it she pulled a bowl of butter out of it and brought it over to her mother who smiled and took it from her. Her mother then bent over and kissed her on the cheek._

"_You know, I really thing we should try pigtails again my dear, you got some butter in your hair." She said giggling._

"_But momma." Dorothy said._

"_No buts, I promise you'll love them, I wore them when I was your age, and in fact that's what attracted your father to me." She replied smiling._

"_Momma that makes me not want to have them even more, boys are icky." Dorothy said shuddering._

"_I know one day you'll think differently, come on let's get you washed up before I start making the rest of the batter." She said leading Dorothy to the sink._

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked walking back into the room.

Dorothy was immediately snapped out of thought.

"You were thinking really hard again." Ellie said sighing.

"I wasn't thinking, I was remembering, the first time I got to help my mom make pancakes from scratch, and it was also the day I started wearing pigtails, which reminds me, have you seen my hair ribbon?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not recently no, I can see if Donna has any if you'd like?" Ellie offered.

"No thanks Ellie, you know I don't like borrowing stuff." Dorothy said.

"Right, well you could check your satchel, its hanging from the hat stand by the door." Ellie said walking out of the room.

Dorothy sighed and took another forkful of pancakes. She ate in silence for a few minutes and finished eating. She then got up and placed the plate in the sink. She then sighed, grabbed the scepter, walked into the living room, she found Aislynn reading a book on the floor. She walked over, knelt down, and lifted it up.

"Fairy Tales? Why would you read that?" Dorothy asked.

"Everyone needs something fun to read every now and again." Aislynn said giggling.

"Fair enough." Dorothy replied.

"Anyways Dorothy, we have the entire day planned out." Ellie said smiling.

"What?" Dorothy asked.

"We're going on a picnic." Aislynn said smiling.

"At the park I assume?" Dorothy asked smiling.

"Nope, but you'll see." Aislynn said.

"Oh I hate surprises." Dorothy said giggling.

"Well I should be off, you guys have fun, don't break anything." Donna said grabbing a coat and walking out.

"She seems in a bit of a hurry." Dorothy said.

"I didn't think so." Ellie said staring at the door for a minute.

Dorothy giggled and walked over to the door. She found her satchel hanging on the hat rack and took it off of it. She then began to rummage through it. She found her flats, which she took out and dropped on the floor. She then pulled out two emerald green hair ribbons.

"Ah-ha, here they are, give me a few minutes I'm going to go tie my hair up." Dorothy said running out of the room Toto barking and following at her heels.

"So ace, ready to surprise her?" Ellie asked.

"As soon as Jessica gets here, but do you think your sister will be ready?" Aislynn asked.

"Of course, Glinda is always ready for something." Ellie said giggling.

"Well we still have two hours." Aislynn said looking at the clock.

"But we need to keep Dorothy here until then, if we can't get the basket then that ruins everything." Ellie said.

"Psst, Ellie." Glinda said from the mirror softly.

"Yes sis?" Ellie asked.

"When do you want me to bring you guys here?" she whispered.

"Just keep an eye on us, oh Dorothy's coming." Ellie said.

Glinda's image faded from the mirror, Dorothy then walked into the room and looked around.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone." Dorothy said finishing tying up her hair.

"Just to ace." Ellie responded happily.

"Oh, well anyways, I'm going to clean up the kitchen you guys want to help? I mean you did a number with the flour." Dorothy said giggling.

"Dorothy, ace and I will take care of it, you just sit down and relax." Ellie said getting up and dragging Dorothy over to the couch.

Dorothy pulled back and walked back towards the kitchen.

"Ellie, please, I'll get bored if I'm not doing something." Dorothy said

"Dorothy, you shouldn't have to do any work on your birthday." Aislynn said.

"But I want to." Dorothy responded.

"Dorothy, I won't argue with you, not today." Ellie said sighing in defeat.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to Aislynn and helped her up. Dorothy then led Aislynn and Ellie into the kitchen and threw them both a towel. She then walked over to the sink and wet a washcloth. She walked over to the stove and started wiping it down. She began to think as she did this.

"_Dorothy, use a wet towel, you're getting flour everywhere." Dorothy heard her mom say._

_Dorothy looked down and saw that she was now covered in flour. She giggled then sighed. _

"_Sorry Momma, when will Poppa be home?" Dorothy asked as her mother wiped off the stove with a damp towel._

"_I assume in another hour or so, Dorothy go get changed you're a mess." She said trying to suppress a laugh._

"_Yes momma." Dorothy said running out of the kitchen._

"_Dorothy get me the broom and dust pan once you've changed." She yelled._

_Dorothy went into her room and changed into her favorite light blue day dress. She then walked out of her room and over to the closet, pulling it open her then pulled out the broom and metal dustpan. She then ran back into the kitchen._

"_Here you are momma." Dorothy said cheerfully._

"_Thanks dear, would you hold the dustpan for me?" she asked taking the broom._

_Dorothy nodded and knelt down holding the dustpan at a slight angle so that her mom could sweep stuff into it. _

"Dorothy? Dorothy!?" Ellie shouted trying to get Dorothy's attention.

"Huh? Oh, I did it again didn't I?" Dorothy asked sighing.

"Dorothy, you need to try not to get lost in thought, we've been trying to snap you out of it for the last hour." Ellie said.

"Hour!?" Dorothy asked quite concerned.

"Yea, what were you remembering?" Ellie asked.

"Helping my mother clean up the kitchen after making pancakes." Dorothy said smiling.

"Oh, well anyways, we're finished. We just need to put the dishes and pans away." Ellie said walking over to Dorothy and hugging her tightly.

Dorothy returned the embrace. She then walked over to the scepter and picked it up. Toto barked at her curiously.

"I think I'm going to go sit on the bench outside." Dorothy said.

"Aislynn go keep Dorothy company, make sure she doesn't do anything crazy." Ellie said.

"Why would I do that?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because this is you we're talking about, not average Joe from three miles down the block." Ellie said giggling.

"Fair point come on ace, you can bring your book if you'd like." Dorothy said leading Aislynn out of the room.

Ellie sighed and picked up the plate and the pans and put them in a cabinet that looked like it would store them. She then picked up the utensils and the mixing bowl and put them in the cabinet she saw Mrs. Gale get them from. She then sat down and sighed.

"Ellie, what are you going to do now?" She asked herself sadly.

She sighed and got up, she then walked back into the living room and looked out the window. She saw Dorothy sitting on the bench outside while Aislynn was reading her book. She smiled and giggled, she then looked around the room. She noticed Dorothy's flats still on the floor next to the door, she walked over and picked them up. She then opened the door and walked out of the house. Toto ran up to her and barks a few times. Ellie sighed and sat down on the porch. She then handed the flats to Toto.

"Bring these over to Dorothy." she said giggling.

Toto took the flats gently in his mouth and walked over to his mistress setting them on the ground in front of her. Dorothy smiled and turned around to see Ellie sitting on the porch. She motioned for her to come over. Ellie smiled and got up from her spot, she then walked over to Dorothy and sat down on the bench next to her.

"So, have anymore memories?" Ellie asked curiously.

"No, and to be severely honest I don't like remembering, sometimes it just makes me feel upset." Dorothy responded her voice starting to trail off.

Ellie didn't say anything, she just wrapped her arms around Dorothy and hugged her tightly. Dorothy sighed and returned the embrace.

"Dorothy, I'm sorry, I didn't want to try and make you feel bad." Ellie said.

"It's alright Ellie." Dorothy said giggling a little.

They broke from the embrace after a few minutes and Dorothy then tilted her head up to look at the sky. It was a beautiful blue color this morning. Hardly any clouds could be seen. It was peaceful, serene, and most off all it was a beautiful day. But Dorothy knew in the back of her mind that the weather might not stay nice, since the weather in Kansas had a strange habit of sending a downpour on you without a moment's notice. She smiled at this and giggled. She then bent down and picked up her flats from where Toto had set them down. The then sighed and pulled off her boots and slid the flats on. She then thought about the jester, would he of all people have the nerve to attack her on her birthday? She didn't know, and she wasn't really sure if she cared. She then picked up the scepter which she had leaned against the arm of the bench and tightened her grip on it. She then, after all this time, thought about the lives she was endangering. This to her was a depressing thought, even on her birthday. She started to get lost in thought when she felt Ellie tap her on the shoulder.

"Dorothy?" She asked curiously.

"Yea?" Dorothy asked.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked.

"I was thinking about the people I'm endangering because I made a deadly enemy out of the jester." Dorothy replied.

"Dorothy, it's your birthday, you shouldn't be worrying about that kind of stuff today of all days." Ellie said.

"I know Ellie, but it's really hard not to think about it, you guys seem ready for it to become just about all out war." Dorothy replied sighing.

"Dorothy, you and I both know that it may come down to that, but anyways let's change the subject." Ellie said smiling.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes Aislynn?" Dorothy responded.

"What was the best thing you ever got for your birthday?" Aislynn asked curiously.

Dorothy thought about this for a moment, her birthdays were, for the most part the same. But thinking about it in the end, she realized that she always liked what she got for her birthday no matter what it was.

"I don't know ace, to be severely honest I've never thought of anything as the best or the worst things that I've received over the years, but I think all in all, the best present I ever got was Toto." Dorothy said smiling.

"Which birthday did you get him for?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I didn't, I got him maybe two or three years after I came to live with my aunt and uncle, he's been by my side for the most part ever since." Dorothy said smiling at her dog who was now sitting in the grass watching some birds fly by.

"Wow." Aislynn responded

"Yep, anyways… hey isn't that Jessica's car?" Dorothy asked turning her attention to the street.

All of them looked out at the street. It was indeed Jessica's car and Aislynn knew this. The car pulled up to the end of the walk and Aislynn got up and ran over to it. Jessica came out of the car carrying a large picnic basket. She handed this to Aislynn and then waved at Dorothy. Dorothy waved back in response and watched as Jessica got back into her car and drove off. Ellie then got up and walked over to Aislynn she then peeked into the picnic basket. Dorothy heard her say the word "perfect" and she then got up, picked up her boots, and walked over to them.

"So, where are we going for the picnic?" Dorothy asked as she watched Ellie pick up Toto.

"You'll see." Ellie said giggling.

Dorothy then realized that the scepter was now glowing. She smiled and braced herself for what she knew was about to happen. She then felt herself lurch forward. She saw the colors whizzing by her, she then closed her eyes and braced herself as she began to feel dizzy. She then felt her feet make contact with the floor. She fell forward directly into the arms of Glinda.

"Happy birthday Dorothy." she said smiling.

"Happy birthday Dorothy." came the voice of Finley as flew down from the shelf he was on.

"Thanks Glinda, thank you Finley." Dorothy said trying to catch her breath.

Ellie and Aislynn then walked over to her with Toto following at their heels. Aislynn was still carrying the picnic basket with her. Dorothy smiled at her friends.

"So this is the surprise?" Dorothy asked.

"Yep, and we're taking you on a picnic, is Tugg ready?" Ellie asked looking over at her sister.

"Yep, you girls have fun." Glinda said smiling.

Dorothy smiled as she felt Ellie take her hand and lead her along with both Finley and Toto following closely behind. But she began to wonder, what was the jester up to?

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout. _

The jester was walking around his crystal ball. He was twirling the wand between his fingers like a baton. He was watching the girls with a sad look on his face.

"What am I supposed to do, it's extremely tempting to send an army of flying monkeys after the girl, but I don't feel like it would be the right thing to do to her on her birthday." He said to himself.

He sighed and flicked the wand, he then walked out of room and walked down the hallway. He found his unicycle leaning against the wall not far from the room. He got on it and rode it around back and forth along the hallway. After a few minutes he returned to the room and jumped off the unicycle. He flipped in the air a few times before successfully landing on the floor successfully. He then flicked the wand again and the crystal ball showed Dorothy and her friends drifting along the river in that boat of theirs.

"Dorothy gale, sometimes you just amaze me." He said chuckling.

_Meanwhile on the river._

"Finley please be careful we don't want you to fall out of the boat." Aislynn said watching Finley balance himself on the small ledge of the boat.

"Don't worry, I can fly remember?" he asked the girl curiously.

"Finley please be nice to ace, she's just worried for your safety, as am I." Dorothy said watching as the scepter began to glow a dull green.

"Sorry Dorothy." he said jumping off the ledge and flying over.

"It's alright Finley, we just don't want to see you get hurt that's all." Dorothy said giggling.

"I won't get hurt, in fact I'm going to try to avoid it as much as possible." Finley said.

"Fair enough, hey Ellie, what's in that picnic basket anyways?" Dorothy asked looking at her friend who seemed to be sorting through the baskets contents.

"You're going to hate me for saying this but, it's a surprise." Ellie said giggling.

Toto then walked over to Dorothy and barked loudly causing Finley to jump. They all laughed at this for a minute before Tugg piped up.

"We're approaching the clearing." He said happily.

"Thanks Tugg." Ellie said as they disembarked.

"No problem, I'll be waiting just down river when you're ready to return." Tugg said

Dorothy smiled as they disembarked off of Tugg and walked into the clearing that she so often came to during times of sorrow. They walked directly to the middle of the clearing where Ellie and Finley worked together to set out a picnic blanket. Dorothy giggled and leaned the scepter down against the closest tree to the middle of the clearing and walked over to the blanket. She sat down and helped Ellie and Aislynn get food from the picnic basket. The first thing that was pulled out was a large bowl of strawberries. Dorothy smiled and giggled as she set them down. After a minute or so they had pulled a box of sandwiches, a large thermos of soup and a large bowl of fruit salad. At the other end of the picnic basket however unknown to Dorothy, was a small white box tied up with a green ribbon. Dorothy then grabbed herself a sandwich. Taking a bite out of it she found that it was a pastrami sandwich.

"Have some soup Dorothy." Aislynn said handing her the thermos.

Dorothy nodded and unscrewed the cap, pouring some soup into it she took a sip. It was delicious, the broth was good and had a nice flavor to it. She looked over and saw Finley having a small plateful of fruit salad that Ellie had made up for him. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Ellie grabbed the bowl of strawberries. She handed it to Dorothy who took one and took a bite from it. It was extremely sweet and had just the right amount of sour to it. She smiled and sighed.

"Thank you two for doing this for me." Dorothy said wiping her mount on the back of her arm.

"Thank Glinda as well, it was her idea to bring you here for the picnic." Aislynn said giggling.

"I wonder what Glinda is doing now? I mean outside of keeping an eye on us." Dorothy asked.

"Why would she need to keep an eye on us?" Finley asked sounding concerned.

"In the event that the jester decides to ambush us." Ellie said.

"Y-y-you r-really think h-he would d-d-do that?" Finley asked nervously.

"Possibly." Dorothy said grabbing another strawberry

"Great that makes me feel so much better." Finley said sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel any better you could fly down the river and back to the emerald city, you'd be safer there than anywhere else at the moment." Dorothy said giggling.

"No thanks, I think I'd rather stay here than go alone." He said.

The girls laughed about this for a few minutes then went back to eating. After about an hour when they had finished all the regular food Ellie pulled the small box out of the basket and handed it to Dorothy. She smiled and untied the ribbon. She then pulled open the box and found a cupcake with light green frosting and a small card that read, 'Happy birthday, Dorothy gale'. Dorothy smiled and took a little frosting on her finger. She then licked it and sighed. It was real buttercream frosting made from scratch. She picked up the cupcake and took a bite out of it. It was a chocolate cupcake with a strawberry filling in the center. She wondered when any of them, even ace's maids, would have had time to even make this. As she at the cupcake she smiled and remembered once helping her mother and father make icing for her birthday cake.

"_Dorothy, save some icing for your cake." Her father said chuckling and moving the bowl of icing._

"_But it's sweet." Dorothy complained._

"_So are you my little flower." Came the voice of Dorothy's mother as she walked into the kitchen and wiped Dorothy's face with a wet cloth._

"_Momma!" Dorothy said in a complaining tone._

"_Dorothy, you got icing all over your face." She replied giggling._

"_Did I get any in my pigtails?" Dorothy asked._

"_No, see I told you they would help." She replied._

"_I still think they look silly." Dorothy said pouting._

"_I think they look cute." Her father replied walking back in._

"_Thank you frank, that's what I've been trying to convince her about since yesterday." She replied._

_Dorothy's father chuckled and walked over to her. He then kissed her on the cheek._

"_Poppa!" Dorothy said wiping her cheek on her sleeve._

"Dorothy? Dorothy!?" Ellie shouted.

Dorothy snapped out of thought again. She looked at Ellie and Aislynn who were looking at her quite concerned.

"What were you remembering?" Ellie asked.

"The last birthday cake my parent's ever made for me, the year that they died, I got to help ice it." Dorothy said smiling and tearing up.

"Well at least it's a relatively happy memory." Finley said, everybody looked at him, "I'll go back to my fruit." He added turning around.

Dorothy giggled at this, then Ellie leaned forward and wiped a tear from Dorothy's face.

"Dorothy, please try not to get too upset, it's your birthday." Ellie said.

"I know Ellie, I try." Dorothy said smiling.

_Meanwhile in the emerald city._

Glinda was watching them enjoying themselves, she smiled and walked over to the scarecrow who had just walked into the room.

"Did you finish your gift for her?" Glinda asked smiling.

"Yep, and I think she'll love it." He said pulling out a heart shaped pendant with a rainbow of stones set it in with a nice emerald set in the middle.

"Scarecrow it's beautiful, I'm sure she'll love it, how did you make that rainbow layering effect though?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Very carefully." He replied chuckling.

Glinda chuckled and walked back over to the crystal ball. She watched the girls smiling.

_Meanwhile back at the clearing_

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes ace?" Dorothy asked getting up and walking over to the scepter.

"What are you going to do about the scepter during the school year?" she asked.

"Glinda said she was trying to work that out, but to be honest, I may just end up having to carry it around." Dorothy said sighing.

"What's wrong with that?" Finley asked curiously.

"in my world, the one that me and Aislynn come from, magic isn't a really common place thing like it is here in Oz, to be honest I'd look pretty silly carrying this thing around all day." Dorothy said looking at him.

"oh." Was the only response he could come up with.

"Come on guys, we should head back to the emerald city." Dorothy said walking back over to them.

Ellie looked up at the sky, the sun was past its midpoint in the sky.

"I think so, it has to be at least one o'clock, and didn't you set that watch when you got Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I've never owned a watch, how was I supposed to set it?" she said holding up her wrist.

"Fair argument, anyways, Finley, Aislynn, help me get this stuff packed up." Ellie said.

"I can help." Dorothy offered.

"Dorothy no, you just relax." Ellie said as she and Finley folded up the blanket.

_Meanwhile back at the emerald city._

"my dear, Glinda says that Ellie, Aislynn and Dorothy will be returning soon, do you have your present for her ready yet?" Marshall Mallow asked looking over to his wife.

"Yes my dear husband, have you got yours ready?" The princess asked teasingly.

"It just arrived a few minutes ago, do you think she's partial to chocolate?" He asked worriedly.

"Depends, what kind?" she asked.

"It's a mix of many different ones, you know similar to the ones I gave Ellie on her birthday." He replied.

"What's the difference then?" she asked.

"I also had general candy apple send some normal candies from the county with It." he said.

"I'm sure she'll love it dear." The princess said happily.

"I hope you're right my love." He said walking over and picking up the gift she had just finished wrapping.

"I know I'm right, anyways, give me a minute to change my size and we can head to the chambers." She said giggling.

"Sure thing dear." He replied walking out.

Meanwhile in the throne room Glinda and the scarecrow were talking to Dorothy's aunt and uncle in the mirror.

"So Dorothy is on her way back to the city?" Em asked curiously.

"Yep, how long before you guys have your farmhouse finished?" The scarecrow asked.

"Maybe a few more hours, can we ask you guys to stall her?" Em asked curiously.

"Sure, what about the electrical work how are you going to set all that up?" the scarecrow asked remembering how hard it was to get the rainbow mover set up.

"We'll have some people help us during the week, but the house is really coming together." Henry said finally.

"That's good, we'll keep her stalled as long as we can before she forces us to send her back." Glinda said chuckling.

They then heard the sound of Tugg's bell ring. Glinda turned around quickly and looked into the crystal ball. They were back and it wouldn't be long before they got back to the chambers.

"Good luck." Em said.

"Same to you guys." Glinda said waving her hand over the mirror causing the image to fade.

"I'm going to go get the tin man and Lion, they both got something for her as well." He said running out.

Glinda smiled as she watched Dorothy come into the city through the crystal ball. She looked up and smiled as Marshall Mallow walked into the room followed by his wife.

"Good afternoon Glinda." The princess said as her husband opened his mouth to speak.

"Yes good afternoon Glinda." He said nervously.

"You guys have gifts for her I assume?" Glinda asking teasingly referring to the present's mallow was carrying.

"Yep, how's her aunt and uncle's gift coming along?" the princess asked curiously.

"According to them relatively well, they just need to get the electrical work properly set up at some point." The scarecrow said walking back in followed by Tin man and Lion who were carrying boxes of their own.

"Have you seen wiser?" The scarecrow asked looking at marshal mallow.

"I believe he's been spending the day flying around." Marshall said.

"Oh, Glinda try to find him in the crystal and bring him here." Scarecrow said.

Finley then flew into the room followed by Dorothy, Ellie and Aislynn. Finley bowed in the presence of the china princess and marshal mallow and then rose and flew up to a small shelf. Dorothy then walked up to her friends and smiled a bit.

"Good afternoon everyone." Dorothy said.

"Happy birthday Dorothy." they all said in unison.

"Thanks guys." Dorothy said smiling.

Wiser then appeared out of nowhere and hit the ground with a loud oomph. Dorothy giggled and ran over to help him up.

"Happy, birthday, Dorothy" he said through panting and gasping.

"Sorry wiser, I just didn't think you wanted to miss this, well, I wish I could stick around but I have things I need to take care of before tonight." Glinda said winking in her sister's direction.

"That's okay Glinda, thanks for bringing me here so your sister and Aislynn could take me on the picnic" Dorothy said.

"You're welcome Dorothy, I'll be back in few hours to send you guys back to Kansas… for Oz sake I really hope dad doesn't make a fool of himself during the year." Glinda said walking out of the room.

As she exited the room she sighed, waved her wand, and vanished.

**Well that's part one of Dorothy's birthday, part two will bring us into the evening session of her birthday and opening presents, but where did Glinda vanish off to? Did she perhaps go to Kansas? Or maybe we'll finally get to see what her castle in the north is like? All questions will be answered in the next installment of this story.**


	23. Dorothy's Birthday Pt 2

**Disclaimer, I do not own the films, the franchises, etc.**

Ellie shut the door behind her sister as she walked out and smiled. She knew her sister had a plan of some sort or else she would not have left them at this point. She wanted to close her eyes and spy on her sister but she knew this would make everyone including Dorothy very curious. She turned around and walked back over to Dorothy and hugged her. She took this time to close her eyes briefly and concentrated. But she found her sister's eyes were closed as well. She opened them again and broke from the embrace.

"Why don't you open some of your gifts now?" Ellie asked.

"I think that sounds like a great idea." Wiser said getting up and fixing his spectacles.

"Yea Dorothy." Aislynn said dragging over a chair.

"Okay, okay I get the point, I'll open some presents, who's should I open first?" Dorothy asked sitting down in the chair and setting down the scepter next to her.

"I don't think the first one we all agree you should be presented with doesn't need to be opened." The china princess said walking over to her along with the scarecrow, "Close your eyes." She whispered into her ear.

Dorothy smiled and obeyed. She waited for a minute before she felt the scarecrows gloved hands wrap around her neck. She then felt a small amount of weight fall around her neck and against her collar. She opened her eyes and looked down. She gasped when she saw the pendant the scarecrow had made for her. She marveled at the colors of the crystals in the shape of a heart. She began to tear up a bit in delight. She looked at the scarecrow, speechless.

"I, I don't know what to say other than it's beautiful." She finally managed to say.

"That's all I wanted to hear." He said smiling.

"Here Dorothy, open these next." The china princess said taking both presents from her husband and handing them to Dorothy.

"Thanks china princess." Dorothy said taking them and opening the first box.

Inside it was an arrangement of chocolates and candies. She smiled and nodded in the direction of Marshal Mallow who saluted and chuckled. She then took a piece out and offered the box around to those who could actually eat sweets. Everybody shook their heads, even wiser who Dorothy knew was really hungry. She shrugged and put the top back on the box and set it to the side. She then opened the other box. Inside she found a large brown paper bag with the strong scent of peppermint coming from it. She knew for sure that it was that tea all of them liked. She reached further into the box and found a dart board and some darts sitting at the bottom. She then pulled then out and chuckled remembering that dart game with the china princess so long ago now.

"Ready for round two princess?" she asked teasingly.

"That's why I had it crafted with Glinda's help." She replied giggling.

"Oh my dear, you tease." Her husband said placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you dear, that's what I was aiming for." The princess said kissing him on the cheek making both of them blush when she looked up.

"Sheesh, lay off the love please, or at least no kissing its gross." Aislynn said in a tone of disgust.

Everyone laughed at this for a few minutes. Aislynn was a cute kid, though incredibly smart, she still acted like a normal young girl.

"Sorry Aislynn." The princess said.

"It's okay." She replied giggling.

Dorothy smiled and was then handed the presents by Lion and tin man. She thanks them and opened the one that was from tin man. It was wrapped in a metallic looking paper. She was however, able to open it with ease. She opened the box and gasped. Inside were small metal statues of her and her friends. She pulled them out one by one, she loved how they captured the likeness of her friends. There was one for each of the friends she had made in the emerald city, and surprisingly one of Aislynn. When she pulled out the one of herself and looked at it. It captured her likeness well, it included her with Toto on the stand next to her and she was holding the scepter.

"Oh tin man they're beautiful, how did you make them?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I had help, the scarecrow and Glinda helped me with them, I made them entirely out of steel and tin mixed together, Glinda helped me get the likeness's right and the scarecrow helped me craft the metal." He said.

Dorothy smiled and placed all the statues back in the box, she then set it on the floor and pulled up the box that the lion gave her. Opening it she gasped and pulled out a book. Flipping through it she found all the sketches she made that weren't dress designs. She smiled and closed the book.

"Thank you lion." Dorothy said smiling.

"Don't just thank me, straw man here gave me the idea and let me into your room and got the drawings, you are a really beautiful artist by the way." He said

"You really helped a lot didn't you scarecrow?" Dorothy asked teasingly.

"I can't help it, I need to keep by brain going or I get bored." He said chuckling.

Dorothy giggled and put the book down on top of the other boxes. She then got up and walked over to her three friends. She then pulled them all into a group hug as best as she could with the lion being at least twice her size around. Marshall Mallow, the princess and Ellie joined in the hug while Aislynn just slowly backed away from the group. Ellie noticed this and giggled.

"What's wrong ace?" Ellie asked.

"All the love, It burns." She said playfully.

They all laughed at this this for a moment then they all broke from the embrace. Dorothy they realized something was missing, or some people.

"Hey Ellie?" Dorothy asked curiously yet slightly and noticeably concerned.

"Yes Dorothy?" Ellie asked nervously.

"Where are your comrades?" Dorothy asked.

Ellie's jaw dropped, she shut it quickly, she hadn't actually noticed their absence she didn't know how to answer this. She shrugged and walked over to Dorothy.

"Not a clue, till you mentioned it I didn't even notice they weren't here." Ellie said.

"Well then, anyways, Glinda said she'd be back in a few hours to send you home after she took care of business, so Dorothy why don't you go to your room and change into a bathing suit and go for a swim?" the princess asked.

"Sure why not, but what about Aislynn?" Dorothy asked.

"What about me?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Won't you feel left out?" Dorothy asked

"Dorothy, we meant just you alone, you need some time to relax, Ellie was telling us about your memories." The princess said.

"When exactly did I tell you guys?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Not directly dear, but we've all been keeping an eye on you guys through the crystal ball and your sister has been explaining things as they go along." The princess said smiling.

"Oh, okay I was a bit confused there for a minute. I thought I might be suffering from amnesia." Ellie said giggling.

"Yea Dorothy, don't worry, we can take care of ourselves" Aislynn said walking over with the scepter.

Dorothy took the scepter from Aislynn and smiled. She then walked around her friends and to the door. She then turned around.

'I'll go change, but, um china princess, can I talk to you in private later" Dorothy asked.

"Sure, just name the place and the time." The princess responded.

"While I'm in the pool, just give me about ten minutes." Dorothy said opening the door and running out.

Dorothy ran straight to her room and into her closet, she emerged a few minutes later wearing a light blue swimsuit and a towel to match. She looked at herself in the full mirror on the other side of the room and sighed. She then picked up the scepter and walked out of her room. After a few minutes she found herself at the doors to the pool. She pushed them open and walked in. she placed the towel and the scepter down on a nearby table and slid out of her flats. She then took a running jump down the stairs and into the pool. She swam around for a bit before the china princess walked in and coughed.

"Dorothy, you wanted to talk?" the china princess asked walking over to the edge of the pool.

"Yea, thanks." Dorothy said swimming over to her.

"What did you want to talk about dear?" she asked curiously.

"You guys know that I've been remembering things, but I've been remembering my parents most of all, and it's really painful to think about sometimes" Dorothy said sadly.

"Ah, well when did you start thinking about it?" the princess asked curiously.

Dorothy thought about this for a minute, she remembered the graveyard was the first time she had thought about her parents in a long time.

"When I took Aislynn to see my parents grave, to show her she's not the only one who lost her parents." Dorothy said starting to tear up, "Would you mind helping me out of the pool?" she

The princess sat down on the edge of the pool and helped Dorothy out of the water.

"So in order to prove a point you brought back memories that you thought were long since gone?" the princess asked curiously'

Dorothy sniffed and nodded.

"Dorothy, please don't cry, not on you…" the china princess started saying before she saw the pain in Dorothy's eyes.

"You hadn't thought about them for a really long time did you?" the princess asked sighing.

"Why would I think about them, it hurt too much!?" Dorothy shouted.

"Dorothy, please calm down, do you want to talk about it later?" The princess asked.

"Please." Dorothy said wiping her eyes.

"Would you like me to stay?" the princess asked in a sweet tone.

Dorothy nodded and pushed herself back into the pool and did a few laps. She began to think about her parents again, she also began to wonder why she stopped thinking about them. She began to float on her back and took some deep breaths. She began to wonder what plan the jester was coming up with.

_Meanwhile at the jesters hideout._

The jester was now riding around the crystal ball and juggling anything that was small enough to juggle. He was thinking of some harmless little prank he could pull on Dorothy on her birthday, but he found that she was upset. He then dismounted from the unicycle and called for the head of his flying monkey army and his second.

"Nikko! Basil!" he yelled.

Two monkeys came into the room and one was carrying a business card. The jester took it and read it aloud.

"I would like you two know that my name is pronounced Baz-il and not Bays-il?" he read.

He looked at the card then back at the monkey, and then back at the crystal ball for good measure.

"Where did you even get a chance to write up a business card, where did you even learn to make business cards? Never mind, prepare my dinner for eight, I'm going on a trip." He said looking at them.

The monkeys saluted and ran out. He then looked at the crystal ball with a wicked glare. He then smiled and licked his top row of teeth maliciously.

"Oh miss Dorothy do I have a surprise for you." He said cackling wickedly.

_Meanwhile in the emerald city._

Ellie was sitting on her bed watching Toto toy around with her shoes. Aislynn was on the floor with her nose in a book as usual. Ellie closed her eyes and hoped to see what her sister was seeing. At first she saw that her sister was back at her palace in the north but then she was surrounded by colors and then a large group of people which she started pushing her way through. Ellie smiled and opened her eyes, she was pretty sure she knew where her sister was and what she was doing.

"Ellie?" Aislynn asked.

"Yes ace?" Ellie responded.

"When do you think Dorothy's aunt and uncle will be ready for us to come back?" Aislynn asked.

"Some time after nightfall I assume." Ellie responded.

"Oh." Aislynn said.

"Right, anyways come on, I'm sure Dorothy will be done with her swim soon." Ellie said getting up and getting her shoes from Toto.

"Alright, just let me finish this page." Aislynn said folding in the corner of one of the pages.

Aislynn shut the book and picked up Toto she then got up and walked over to the door followed by Ellie. They walked along towards Dorothy's room. They found the china princess waiting outside the door which was new closed.

"Is something wrong China Princess?" Ellie asked curiously.

"No, Dorothy just doesn't want to be bothered at the moment, she's changing." The princess replied.

Ellie smiled and rummaged through her pockets she pulled out a key that the scarecrow had given her. She unlocked the door and walked in quietly, followed by Aislynn, Toto and the china princess. She then quietly sat down on the bed and looked at the scepter which was now glowing dimly.

"Ellie?" Dorothy asked walking out of the closet now dressed in her normal dress.

"Yes Dorothy?" Ellie responded.

"Would you mind closing your eyes and finding out where your sister is?" Dorothy asked.

Ellie nodded and closed her eyes, she saw that her sister was reading through a book that she couldn't really make out the text for. She frowned, she didn't know where her sister was.

"Not sure Dorothy, she appears to be reading something." Ellie said shrugging.

"Oh well, she must be trying to find the right spells again, we're trying to combat the jester's magic, which I might add is really difficult when you don't know what kind of magic is being used against you." The princess said walking over to Dorothy and tapping her lightly on the nose.

"Yea, I guess that could be an issue." Dorothy said giggling as the china princess's finger made contact with her nose.

"Actually I don't think it's an issue." Aislynn said.

"Really?" Dorothy, Ellie and The princess asked in unison.

"Yea, I think it is a very big problem!" she shouted making them all laugh.

"Aislynn, you are one cute kid." The princess said.

Aislynn giggled and blushed, she smiled and sat down on the bed next to Ellie.

"You know, I love you guys, and before you say it princess, no my birthday hasn't been that bad." Dorothy said putting up a hand to stop the china princess from making a remark.

The china princess opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again unable to think of anything to say.

"Wow, that…" Ellie said unable to make a remark.

The china princess finally thought of something to say, she went to Dorothy and placed a hand on her shoulder, she then broke into a small fit of laughter.

"Dorothy gale, you know me far too well." She said laughing

"Thank you princess.' Dorothy said.

"You're welcome, come on, get your shoes on if you'd like and let's go back to the chambers." The princess said .

"Why wouldn't she wear her flats?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Because sometimes she just goes barefoot, she came to Oz barefoot the year I got married." The princess said smiling.

"oh." Aislynn said slightly confused.

Dorothy giggled and walked over to the scepter, picking it up she walked over to where she had put down her flats. Toto barked a few times and ran over. Dorothy slid into the flats and picked him up. He in their licked her on the face as he usual. Dorothy then walked out of the room, Aislynn and the china princess followed, Ellie stayed behind however and closed her eyes. She saw that her sister was looking around her castle, she was in a room that Ellie knew well, and that was her sister's chambers, she was looking for something and she found it, she then realized her sister was traveling, she then found her sister was now in front of Mr. and Mrs. Gale. She smiled and opened her eyes. She then ran out of the room to catch up with the others.

"Ah Ellie there you we worried you somehow got lost." Came the voice of the china princess.

"No china princess, but I think my sister finally found what she was looking for." Ellie said as the clock struck seven.

Dorothy gasped and walked over to the window, she looked outside at the now almost completely set sun. The full moon was rising high into the sky. She smiled and looked out at it smiling.

"Full moon tonight, oh I love the full moon, it's just so majestic and beautiful." Dorothy said sighing.

"I'll admit the silver full moon is one of the prettiest things I ever get to see, I used to have my servants set me up a small throne outside on nights where there was a full moon." The princess said walking over and sighing.

They all walked over to the window and looked out at the moon, Finley then flew into the room carrying a large book seeming to struggle under the weight.

"The scarecrow told me to bring you this book." He said flying over to Aislynn.

Aislynn took the book from Finley and smiled.

"Thanks Finley, tell the scarecrow thanks for me." Aislynn said.

Finley nodded and flew out of the room. Dorothy then looked at the scepter which was now glowing brightly. She walked over to the large box that her presents had been put in and Ellie came over and picked up the box and Aislynn goes and picks up Toto.

"I think it's time to head back to Kansas it seems." Ellie said looking at the scepter.

"I guess so, either that or the jester is going to jump out from behind the throne." Dorothy said chuckling.

Aislynn quickly looked behind the throne just to be sure. She smiled and turned around.

"Nope, just a lot of dust and air." She said making everyone chuckle.

"Ace, I was kidding." Dorothy said smiling and walking over.

Dorothy didn't get to many steps closer to Aislynn before she felt herself lurch forward. She saw colors whizzing by her in a beautiful sunset pattern. She closed her eyes as she began to feel dizzy and sick. She braced herself for the abrupt stop that she knew was going to come shortly afterwards. She began to wish they could find an easier, less nauseating way to bring her between her home and Oz, but she knew that the only other options were a twister or the rainbow mover, which at the same time were not really options at all. She then felt her feet make contact with hardwood floor, she feel forward directly into Glinda's arms.

"Take it easy now Dorothy, I know that was rough for you, it always is." She said rubbing Dorothy's back in a circular motion.

Dorothy looked up into Glinda's smiling face and smiled back.

"Any explanation as to why it seems to affect me more than the others yet?" Dorothy said managing to catch her breath.

"Afraid not, but I'll look into it if it makes you feel any better." Glinda said chuckling.

"Actually what would make feel better is an explanation as to why you're here in Kansas." Dorothy questioned.

"I'd tell you but that would ruin the surprise." Glinda said giggling.

"Oh, Dorothy there you are." Came the voice of Alyssa.

"Alyssa? What are you doing here?" Dorothy breaking away from Glinda and walking over.

"It's all part of the surprise." Ellie said walking into the room followed by Aislynn and Toto.

Dorothy looked around the room, she found that they were back in the Alistair residence. She smiled, at least she was someplace familiar.

"What surprise?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Like she said, if we told you, it would ruin the surprise." Came the voices of Caitlyn, Chrissy, Elena, Brianna, and Alison all in unison.

"So, this is where you guys disappeared to?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Well no, we came willingly." Elena said walking over to Ellie and taking the box from her.

"Well I sort of gathered that, you guys would never let yourselves get captured, not on purpose anyways." Ellie said giggling.

"Okay, we can have a warm reunion later, but Dorothy, follow us." Alyssa said running out of the house followed by the other girls.

Dorothy looked at Glinda, who nodded. Dorothy smiled and followed the girls out of the house, she immediately found herself being blindfolded with a red bandanna. She giggled as she felt herself being led along the road.

"So you guys really want this to be a surprise don't you?" Dorothy asked through giggled.

"What was your first clue?" Alyssa said chuckling.

"The blindfold made out of a red bandanna was a rather large clue." Dorothy said as they led her along the road.

Dorothy began to wonder where they were going, and why she needed the blindfold, she tightened her grip around the scepter. She then felt a presence that made her feel calmer about this. She felt a hand take her own and knew that it was Ellie when she felt her hand get squeezed lightly.

"Don't worry Dorothy, you're going to love it." Ellie whispered into her ear.

"Thanks for that small amount of assurance." Dorothy said smiling.

Dorothy then became aware of another presence, and she didn't like this one, it felt bad. But she shrugged this off as they walked along. After a few minutes Dorothy could hear the sound of grain rustling in summer breeze, she knew that the summer was almost over and that she, Aislynn, and Ellie would be going to the school. She now had everything on her plate to deal with, she wondered what she was going to about the jester, and she also wondered how this would somehow affect her school work. But she shrugged this off when she felt Ellie squeeze her hand tightly and they all came to an abrupt halt.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Auntie Em.

"Yes auntie Em?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Ready for your big surprise?" she asked teasingly.

"As I'll ever be." Dorothy said.

"That's good, because we know you'll be surprised." Came the voice of uncle henry.

Dorothy then heard Toto barking and Aislynn let out a gasp, she smiled as she felt the bandanna being untied in the back,

"Ready?" Alyssa asked.

"Ready." Dorothy said nodding.

The blind fold was then released from her eyes, she saw what looked like everyone in town standing in front of her. She looked up and around them and gasped in shock, happiness, and delight. The farmhouse was not completely fixed, it looked slightly bigger and it had everything restored.

"Happy Birthday!" she heard everyone say in unison.

Dorothy couldn't help but let tears of joy cascade down her face. She ran over to her aunt and uncle and hugged them tightly. Toto and Aislynn then ran up and Aislynn joined in the hug. Dorothy then looked up at her aunt and uncle and smiled.

"So this is what you guys were doing all day? But how did you manage it?" Dorothy asked happily.

"we arranged it all during the town meeting last night, everyone who knew you well enough was happy to volunteer to help, then the girls showed up to help and so did Glinda." Uncle Henry said referring to the farmhouse.

"But what about electrics?" Dorothy asked.

"I took care of that myself." Came the voice of Glinda.

Dorothy turned around and saw Glinda walking up to them. When she over to them Dorothy broke from the embrace, she ran over to the porch and sat on the steps. She was then joined by Aislynn, Ellie, and the rest of the girls.

"Dorothy, we figured if you could put together a boat in less than a day we could put together a house." Alyssa said placing a hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

"Thank you, Thank you all for helping my aunt and uncle put this together for me!" Dorothy said loudly standing up and waving to everyone.

Just then there was a clap of thunder, the wind began to pick up again? Dorothy looked up at the sky and then at the scepter which was once again glowing brightly. She ran off the steps and looked around in a panic. Everyone moved out of the way and made a path, Dorothy tightened her grip on the scepter and looked around. She then heard what sounded like Donna and Kelly screaming. She looked in the direction of the scream and saw them pointing in a diagonal direction at the farmhouse. Dorothy looked and gasped. Standing there, on the roof was the jester. Glinda angrily shot a spell at him which missed as he ducked out of the way.

"Now, now, we don't want any violence do we? Not on this special day." He said chuckling.

Dorothy was about to say something when the she saw the jester get hit in the face by what looked like a tin can.

"Hey Bozo! Get off the roof, that isn't even your house." Came the voice of Alex from somewhere in the crowd.

"Alex do me a favor just this once?" Dorothy said looking into the crowd trying to find him.

The jester sighed and flicked his wand causing people to fall down out of the way of Alex.

"No, he's going to ruin our perfectly good work!" he said walking closer to the house.

Dorothy looked at the jester and watched as he raised the wand and wave it in a circle. Dorothy panicked and started running towards Alex the jester then began to say a spell he hadn't used in a while but at least he knew it worked.

"WHERE ONCE YOUR LIVING SOUL DID DWELL, NOW IS NOTHING BUT AN EMPTY SHELL!" he said bringing the wand down in a swooping motion.

A purple ball of light shot out of the wand and quickly made its way towards Alex. He stood there frozen in a panic, but he was pushed out of the way at the last second by Dorothy. They both fell to the ground with a large Oomph while the spell made contact with the dirt and exploded. Dorothy got up and dusted herself off. She then waved the scepter in the jester's direction. A ball of light shot out but it missed the jester going just over his head. He then flicked the wand he was hold and appeared behind Dorothy.

"Catch me if you can!" he said running off into the darkness.

Dorothy began to feel angry, she looked at Glinda quickly then threw the scepter to the side and ran after the jester. She saw him run into the cornfield next to the house and she followed. She soon began to realize what she had just done, she had just run after the jester without any defense at her disposal, but she didn't care, he almost cast a spell on someone that, though she didn't like at all, didn't deserve to become a marionette. She followed the sound of his laughter until they both stood in the middle of the cornfield which looked like it had been cleared out for the soul purpose of putting a scarecrow there. The jester looked at Dorothy and chuckled.

"Oh dear we are in trouble now aren't we?" he asked chuckling.

"How are you not out of breath?" Dorothy asked concerned having realized this.

"I found a spell, and now I can run for ages, but it's not me you should be worried about, it's yourself, you ran off after me without the one thing that keeps you safe, the scepter, which means, you broke two of your promises, and yes I know about those." He said chuckling.

Dorothy was astounded by this, looking at the jester who was now standing a few feet away from her. but he was right, running after him the way she did was technically breaking the promise of not going after and trying to find the jester, and she threw the scepter to the side in a fit of anger which means she had broken her promise to the scarecrow of not putting herself in danger. She looked at the jester angrily.

"You know, you do have some problems don't you?" he asked teasingly

"I don't have any problems, outside from being very upset at you!" Dorothy shouted at him.

"Yes, well that's not what I meant, and I don't just mean mental problems, you are upset that you broke your promises, which in turn you promised not to break." He said chuckling and getting closer to her.

"Don't come any closer!" Dorothy said putting out her hand to stop him.

The jester stopped in his tracks and looked at the girl. They were both being illuminated by the light of the full moon. The jester's costume now appearing a light mauve in the moonlight, the girl looking just the same as ever. He sighed and smiled wickedly.

"I mean there are things you need to come to terms with, and I don't just mean making amends for breaking your promises, I mean coming to terms with other things as well, and don't look at me with that confused look you know what I mean." He said chuckling again.

"I have nothing to come to turns with, stop it with these mind games and leave me be, and you've had your fun, now go." She said looking at him angrily.

"Well then, what would you say about this confrontation then before I go?" he asked smiling and licking his top row of teeth maliciously again.

"I have nothing to say about it, just go." She said starting to tear up.

The jester didn't say a word, he flicked the wand and was surrounded by a mist, there was another clap of thunder and he was gone. Dorothy sighed and fell to her knees crying.

"Dorothy! Dorothy!" She heard her auntie Em calling along with Glinda and Ellie.

Dorothy didn't respond, she wasn't sure at this point if she wanted to be found, she then heard the sound of Toto barking, he wasn't far away and she knew it was a matter of time before he reached the middle of the cornfield.

"I'm over here Auntie Em!" Dorothy shouted trying to hold back tears.

Toto then emerged from the row of corn next to her and ran over barking. She picked him up and soon saw the green glow of the scepter emitting from the cornfield, Glinda emerged carrying both a lantern and the scepter. She gently set the lantern on the ground and ran over to Dorothy.

"Dorothy, I thought I told you to keep the scepter with you!" Glinda said sternly.

"Glinda please, we can scold her later." Came the voice of auntie Em emerging from the corn carrying a flashlight and a blanket, Ellie then followed behind her.

"Dorothy, why would you run after him like that!?" Ellie asked running over to her friend and embracing her.

Dorothy didn't say a thing, she couldn't she didn't have any explanation outside of having the small fit of anger and being provoked by the jester. She didn't know what she could say, all she knew was that she couldn't make this better.

"Dorothy, did he do anything to you at all? Cast any spells or physically harm you?" Glinda asked sounding concerned but still with a bit of anger in her voice.

Dorothy shook her head, she wasn't going to talk to anyone at this point. What was she going to say? What would she do? And how was she going to make up for it?

"Dorothy, you promised that you wouldn't do anything like that again, why did you break that promise?" Ellie asked starting to tear up.

Auntie Em's watch then beeped signaling another hour had past.

"Dorothy we've been running around this cornfield for maybe two hours looking for you!" Auntie Em said.

Dorothy looked up with a shocked expression, two hours going by without them finding her made her feel sick, they all knew in two hours the jester could have done many things, turn her into a statue, turn her into a puppet, turn her into some sort of animal, and even kill her just to name a few that she was thinking.

"Dorothy, your aunt, Glinda and I have been searching, your uncle took Aislynn into the house to make her something to eat and calm her down, everyone else has returned home at my sisters orders and the girls are waiting on the porch for your return." Ellie said sternly.

"Ellie, could you do me a favor?" Glinda asked.

"What?" Ellie responded.

"Be quiet." Glinda said taking Dorothy in her arms.

Dorothy began to start crying again, on her birthday of all days, why did the jester have to show up and cause problems? Did he ruin it? No she didn't think so, but he did make one heck of a mess of her good time. Toto barked a few times as the wind began to blow again, the cold Kansas summer winds made them all shiver. Auntie took the blanket and wrapped it around Dorothy. Glinda then handed the scepter to Ellie and picked Dorothy up. She then carried her out of the cornfield back to the farmhouse, which without running in complete circles took about twenty minutes to do. Dorothy then felt herself being set down on the porch steps. She opened her eyes and say the girls looking at her with worried expressions.

"Did the jester harm her at all?" Elena asked sounding concerned.

"We don't think so, but she doesn't seem to want to talk to anyone." Em said sadly.

Dorothy felt tears rolling down her face. She looked up at the full moon and smiled weakly. She then sighed and got up. She walked into the house and ran directly to her bedroom which was open. She shut the door and locked it with the dead bolt that had been set there. She then walked over to the bed and lied down on it face down. She began to cry into a pillow. There wasn't anything she wanted to do at this point. She was now completely upset with the jester. She still had the best birthday ever but the night was turning into something hectic. She remembered the last time she had cried so hard was in clearing, when she discovered it for the first time. She looked up and over at the new dresser that had been placed there. She saw that her face was now red and stained with tears. She then heard a knock on the door.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Glinda, who sounded like she was struggling against something.

She looked at the crack below the door and saw the green glow that belonged to the scepter, 'sweet Oz' she whispered to herself as she got up and unbolted the door. Opening it quickly watched the scepter fly by her and come to rest in front of the bed. Glinda walked in and placed a hand under Dorothy's chin. Dorothy pushed it away and Ellie came into the room.

"Dorothy, please don't shut us out, don't be like me." Ellie said.

"Why shouldn't I!? You guys are going to scold me anyways!" Dorothy said angrily choking back tears.

Ellie didn't say a word, she felt hurt by these word, and she ran away from the room. Glinda looked at Dorothy and frowned. She waved her wand and vanished. Dorothy shut the door again and bolted it. She then walked over to the bed and lied back down on it. She then began to feel drowsy and soon was once again asleep.


	24. Dorothy's punishment, the jesters plan

**Disclaimer, I don't own the movies, franchises, etc.**

Dorothy awoke to the sound of the clock striking midnight. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around the room. She saw that the scepter was still floating in front of her bed and that her door was still bolted shut. She sighed and got up, sliding into her flats which were now on the floor she walked over to the scepter and picked it up. She then walked over to the door and quietly unbolted and opened it. She walked out of the room quietly and over to the new bathroom. She walked in and tried the sink, surprisingly it worked. She leaned the scepter against the door and splashed the cold water onto her face. She was feeling regret for what she had done, and being irresponsible the way she had been. When she finished she grabbed the scepter and walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. She found Aislynn sleeping peacefully on the couch with Toto curled up in a ball next to her. Ellie was nowhere to be seen but she assumed that Ellie had either gone with her parents or that she returned to Oz with Glinda. She walked over to the front door and quietly opened it. She was immediately met with a fake cough which made her jump.

"Not sneaking away now are we?" Came the voice of Alyssa.

Dorothy looked around and eventually spotted Alyssa sitting on the far left side of the porch on a rocking chair. She was fiddling with a pocket knife she had found and was using it to carve a shape into a small block of wood. Dorothy didn't say anything she just looked at Alyssa and shut the door quietly.

"We had a feeling you might actually try to sneak out and run off since you already tried that tactic once, but you should know that won't solve your problems." Alyssa said folding up her knife and putting it in her pocket.

"I don't have any problems outside of the jester and the ones he made me cause today, where did Ellie run off to?" Dorothy asked.

"She went with Glinda back to Oz, from what I know she locked herself in her room, it seems that snapping at her the way you did really upset her." Alyssa said.

Dorothy felt tears welling up in her eyes, why was it when things got bad she ended up upsetting her friends she felt Alyssa put a hand on her cheek and. She then took out something her pocket and slipped it into Dorothy's hand. Dorothy looked at it, it was a small bottle of bubbling green liquid that Dorothy recognized immediately.

"Elena gave this to you to keep me from completely flipping out didn't she?" Dorothy asked in monotone.

"If you start feeling nervous or feel like you're about to flip out or throw a fit Elena instructs that I make you drink the calming tonic as soon as possible." Alyssa said sighing.

Dorothy nodded and wiped some tears from her eyes. She then uncorked the bottle with her thumb and downed the contents. She gagged a bit at the foul tasting green liquid, in her life time she only had it administered to her twice, she never thought she'd end up taking it willingly. She immediately began to feel calm and tranquil, but she also began to feel drowsy again just like she always did when she got a mouth full of the stuff. Alyssa led her inside back to her room and helped her back onto her bed. She began to feel even drowsier and eventually fell back to sleep.

She awoke a few hours later to find herself not in her bed in Kansas but her bed in the emerald city. The scepter was floating a few feet in front of her. She looked around the room to find it completely empty of any living soul besides hers. She got out of the bed to find that she was now in a white cotton nightdress similar to the ones she had in Kansas. She also found that her flats were set down right next to the bed. She sighed and walked to the closet where she found her dress waiting for her hung up nicely in front of the mirror. She emerged from the closet having changed a few moments later only to realize that her pendant, which she knew she hadn't taken off, was missing, and her pockets were also empty, including the one she kept her keys in. she ran to the door and tried to open it only to find it locked. She didn't even struggle to get it open she just walked over to her bed and sat down on it.

"Well Dorothy, now you've really done it, you've been locked in your room most likely as a punishment." She said to herself sliding on her flats.

She knew she deserved this, she had broken her promise and ran after the jester without the scepter in hand. She grabbed the scepter out of the air and squeezed it tightly in her grasp. It glowed for a minute and then went dark. She took the orb off of the top and threw it angrily across the room. It bounced off the wall but surprisingly didn't shatter when it hit the floor. She shrugged this off and lied back down on the bed. She then heard the lock in her door click and got up to see it open. She watched as Glinda walked into the room and snapped her fingers and the orb flew into her hands, as well as the broomstick. She looked at Dorothy sadly and placed the scepter back together.

"Dorothy, your punishment is being decided not by us but by your aunt and uncle are discussing it with the others." Glinda said in a sad tone.

"I think that sounds fair enough, can I go talk to Ellie? I want to apologize to her for snapping the way I did, I didn't mean to upset her." Dorothy said getting up and walking over.

"Apology accepted." Ellie said pushing past her sister and running over to Dorothy.

Dorothy ran to Ellie and they embraced for a few minutes. Dorothy then broke from the embrace and looked at Glinda.

"I think the plan is a good one, I'll accept my punishment like an adult if I must." Dorothy said taking Ellie's hand and walking over to Glinda.

"I think that's the responsible thing to do." Glinda said handing the scepter back to Dorothy.

Dorothy nodded and followed Glinda as they walked to the chambers. When they got there Ellie let go of Dorothy's hand and Dorothy walked into the chambers, she found a large table set up and everyone was sitting around it looking at her sadly, Dorothy stood there for a second then walked over to table at sat down, a large box was slid down to her, she opened it and found the stuff she normally kept in her pockets, as well as the pendant, her locket and her keys. She took these and hung them from her neck. She then pocketed the rest of her stuff. She then looked around the table and waited for someone to speak.

"Dorothy, you broke your promises and put yourself in danger." The scarecrow finally said after a few minutes.

Dorothy said nothing but nodded. She knew that her aunt and uncle had come up with some sort of punishment and knowing them it wouldn't be that bad.

"Dorothy, we are all here to discuss which punishment to use for you, and we that is your aunt and I have made a decision." Henry said sternly.

"I understand." Dorothy said.

"Good, because your punishment Is that you won't be allowed to leave the farm for three months for anything but school, no going to the library, no wandering around town, your aunt or I will drive you to and Aislynn to school every day and pick you up at the end of every day is that understood?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Dorothy responded.

"Also, if you do leave the farm on your own, without proper permission, your friends here will take care of the next punishments." Auntie Em added.

"Yes auntie Em." Dorothy said hanging her head in shame.

"Dorothy, please realize, that we are just doing this to keep you safe, we can't have you consistently running off the way you do." The scarecrow said.

"Any ways kid, what if you got hurt, there would be no way for us to help you." Lion said trying to be sympathetic about this entire thing.

"I understand that, and I'm sorry, I just got angry." Dorothy said.

"Well your being very mature in being prepared to take your punishment like an adult." Auntie Em said.

"Thanks auntie Em." Dorothy said smiling.

"Also while you're on the farm you will have chores to do, your aunt and I will decide those as time goes along, also a note from Mr. Alistair, school will be starting in two days come Monday, you have one of the new teachers." Henry said taking out a piece of paper.

"Who?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He goes by the name of Mr. Pryce, are as we know him, the appraiser, turns out he's still a certified teacher." Em said sighing.

"Great, at least he started his new lease on life." Dorothy said happily.

"We know, Glinda send us home, and by us I mean Aislynn, Dorothy, and us, Toto must be bored at this point." Em said

Glinda nodded and waved her wand.

"See you at school Dorothy." Ellie said in a sad tone.

Dorothy then felt herself lurch forward she began to feel dizzy and sick as she usually did. She closed her eyes knowing she was about to come to an abrupt halt. She then felt her feet make contact with the wood floor of the living she threw her arms forward and caught herself before she hit the ground. The scepter fell out of her grasp and rolled away. She caught her breath for a minute and then stood up. She knew this was going to be a long three months.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout_

The jester was doing cartwheels around his crystal ball watching Dorothy just about sulking over her punishment. He laughed and pulled out a book.

"Now why don't I add a punishment of my own, something to help her friends help her realize that sooner or later she could be in a helpless situation, hm, turn her into a puppet? No that failed, um, let's see I've already done marble statue, what else is here in transformations?" he asked flipping through the book.

He flipped for a few pages and stopped when he saw something that caught his eye.

"Oooo, spells that can only be broken by the caster themselves, I could turn her into a cat with fur that matches the colors of the dress she's wearing, and no one will be able to do anything about it, and just to make matters worse, she has a dog, HA! But I don't want her to get hurt that would take the fun out of going to war, so I'll let her keep her vocal chords so she can communicate with them with a this variation." He said putting his finger on the words and memorizing them.

"Miss Dorothy gale, in a weeks' time I shall turn you into a cat, maybe that will be punishment enough for you." He said cackling.

**Sorry this chapter is so short but I had to put this one out there, also credit for the transformation idea comes from one of the oz books, and from WTalespinner. Thank you for your contribution **


	25. School begins

**Disclaimer, do I really still need to put this here**

The weekend went by rather slowly for Dorothy, she spent most of it helping her uncle in the field, brushing the horse, and counting the chickens. She was glad when Monday came around. She and Aislynn were quite ready, Aislynn's maid Jessica had gotten both of them the school supplies and gotten Aislynn a nice new pale mauve. Dorothy had just finished her breakfast and was helping her aunt wash the dishes before her uncle was to drive her and Aislynn to school.

"You've been quiet this morning, something on your mind?" Auntie Em asked her curiously

"Not really, I'm just glad that after two days I'm finally getting off the farm, going to school." Dorothy said placing her plate in the cabinet.

"Well that's good, have fun, make sure ace doesn't make any enemies." Em said taking the rest of the plates and putting them away.

Dorothy nodded and ran out. She slid into her flats and grabbed her satchel. She took out a pencil and placed it behind her ear. She looked in the mirror and giggled. She definitely liked her pigtails more than she did the pencil. She took the pencil out and took out her hair ribbon. She tied her hair up in her usual pigtails and went to meet her uncle and Aislynn at the truck.

"You be good Toto." Dorothy said looking at him.

He barked stood there like a soldier. Dorothy laughed and walked out of the house and out to the truck. Uncle Henry was waiting there with the scepter in his hand. He handed it to Dorothy who sighed.

"So, I have to carry it with me then?" Dorothy asked.

"It nearly broke down your bedroom door when Glinda had it the first day back in the house, so yes until Glinda can find an alternative you need to carry it." He said sighing, "Don't worry Mr. Alistair is fine with It." he added.

Dorothy took it and shrugged. She then got into the truck and drove off towards the school. Dorothy sighed watching the field whiz by them, it would be autumn soon and she would be helping with the harvest, not just because she was being punished but because she enjoyed the harvests. Soon they pulled up to the school and both of them jumped out of the truck.

"Now, I'll see you two this afternoon, be good to your teachers." Henry said as another car drove past him and parked in the spot next to him.

Dorothy watched as Ellie got out of the car and ran over to Dorothy pulling her into a crushing hug. Mr. Upland also emerged wearing a red and white striped button down and half red, half white pants. Dorothy stifled a laugh as did Aislynn as they were greeted by both Mr. Alistair and Mr. Upland. She smiled and shook Mr. Uplands hand and then walked to the room that Mr. Pryce was using as his class room. When she got there she found she was still a half hour early and the room was actually empty for once so she chose her seat. She picked the middle desk in first row. She didn't know personally why she made this decision she just thought it would be a good idea at the time. The door then swung open and Mr. Pryce came in, he looked at Dorothy with a look of shock then quietly walked over to his desk and set down his briefcase. After a few minutes of silence Dorothy finally broke out in conversation.

"So, you've been pretty successful I see." Dorothy said setting down her satchel and her scepter and pulling out a notebook.

"Yea, and funny thing too, when Mr. Alistair asked me if I wanted a job here I was shocked, I found my Ex-wife, she waited for me." He said smiling

"Congrats, so that would explain the ring." Dorothy said looking at the hand drumming on the desk.

"Correct, anyways you think I'll be a good teacher?" he asked nervously.

"Do you feel confident?" Dorothy asked walking over, going into the desk and pulling out a box of chalk.

"Thanks, and yes I do, quite a bit." He said talking a stick of chalk and writing his name on the board.

"That's good, do you know who's in this class this year?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"The roll is in my briefcase, I'll get It." he said walking over and pulling a piece of paper from his briefcase and handing it to Dorothy.

She thanked him and read through it, she sighed and noticed her name as usual was at the bottom of the list for what seemed like no apparent reason. She saw that Donna was in her class again, sadly Alex was in her class and knowing him he would be in trouble a lot. She smiled to see that Ellie was in her class regardless to being younger than her. She smiled and put down the list, she knew everyone that was in her class.

"The only one I would really keep an eye on is Alex." Dorothy said placing the list down his desk.

"Trouble maker?" he asked slyly.

"More like, takes the nearest thumbtack puts it on your chair, runs and then throws a notebook at your head so you'll see the thumbtack." Dorothy said.

"Seems like a confused kid." He whispered.

"That depends on who you talk to." Ellie said walking into the room.

"Ah hello, I'm Mr. Pryce and you are?" he asked curiously looking at his list.

"Ellie upland." Ellie said curtseying.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said looking at the clock.

Ellie nodded and took the desk next to Dorothy's and sat down.

"Oh, and just about everyone listens to Alex and does what he says so be careful if anyone makes trouble blame him." Ellie said.

"Now Ellie, you and I both know your father wouldn't approve of you suggesting that." Dorothy said walking over to her desk and sitting down.

"So? It's not my fault he nearly got himself killed the other day." Ellie said.

"I'm not even going to ask." Mr. Pryce responded.

The school bell then rang and Dorothy watched as everyone piled in, Donna came in and took the other empty seat next to Dorothy. She smiled and waved at Dorothy and her face dropped as Alex walked in and took the seat behind Dorothy smiling smugly.

"Thanks for saving my life the other day, but don't think this changes anything." He said.

"Feelings mutual." Dorothy responded.

"Oi, you two no arguing we have Mr. Alistair coming in for the first hour or two of our class, I am Mr. Pryce, now for the roll call." He said picking up the list and reading off the names.

"Why is your name always at the bottom of the list?" Donna whispered.

"Beats me, like you said, it always is, I don't make policy I just carry it out." Dorothy whispered back.

"Dorothy Gale, well you're here we already met." He said checking it off.

Mr. Alistair came into the room and shuddered when his gaze fell on the scepter. He then regained his composure and silently took the chair next to the chalkboard.

"Now, as this is my first class at this school, and my first time teaching in a few years, I want to ease back into this, so I've prepared a small, yet easy quiz with the help of Mr. Alistair to find out what kind of information you guys retained." Mr. Pryce said handing out papers at the end of each row.

Dorothy looked at the small quiz, it seemed relatively easy enough, it was circling either A, B, or C. she took out a pencil and began to fill in her answers. She then felt something tug on flats. She looked down to see Alex fiddling with something that looked like two or three bent up metal coat hangers. She sighed and ignored it, if he took them he took them, she knew she'd get them back from him before lunch though. She continued to fill in the answers trying to ignore the feeling of a makeshift contraption pulling against her shoes. She eventually sighed quietly and slid them off. She heard him chuckle in success and drag them under his desk. She asked Ellie if she could borrow a compact mirror. Ellie nodded and handed her it. She opened it and saw Alex throw one of her flats at Mr. Alistair, it hit him with a loud thwack. Dorothy looked at Alex with a look that made him shrink back.

"Ms. Gale? Yours I presume?" Mr. Alistair said picking up the flat and walking over to Alex to obtain the other one.

"Yes sir." Dorothy said.

"Yes, well Alex, that's another day of after school with Mr. Clarke, and Ms. Gale you can retrieve your shoes from my office at the end of the day, is that clear?" He said to both of them.

"But, but uncle what about Dorothy, she can't go around barefoot can she?" Donna asked sounding concerned.

"Donna, stay out of this." One of the girls said sounding frightened.

"Actually, there's a really long story I have for that one." Ellie said as everyone shot her a look of pure venom.

Ellie shrunk back in her seat and continued with her quiz. Dorothy quickly finished hers and brought it up to Mr. Pryce who looked at her worriedly.

"If I were you, I'd switch back to wearing boots." He said in an honest tone, "you don't seem the least bit embarrassed though." He noted curiously.

"I've been through worse, much worse." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, floor must be cold though." He said turning to the window, he then blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Dorothy asked curiously and concerned.

"Oh nothing, just, tired I guess, I thought I saw, but then I didn't, oh I don't know." He said shrugging.

Dorothy shrugged as well and walked back to her desk and Mr. Alistair walked out Dragging Alex grudgingly along. She sighed and sat down at her desk.

"You know, I really hate that kid, but I do have to feel sorry for him sometimes." Donna said sighing.

"Whys that?" Dorothy asked setting her feet onto her chair and tucking them under her dress.

It took a lot of people a while to finish to finish with the girl that had stopped Donna from saying anything till the first break in the day.

"That's your Ten minute break." Mr. Pryce said.

Everyone got up and stretched and walked out to use the bathroom, get a drink or if you were most of the popular kids, gossip about Alex getting in trouble. Ellie, Dorothy, and Donna stayed behind. Mr. Upland came into the room with Aislynn. She was crying a bit, she ran over to Dorothy and hugged her tightly.

"Aislynn, what's wrong?" Dorothy asked.

"People made fun of me for being a quote unquote know-it-all." Aislynn said nuzzling into Dorothy's shoulder.

"Who's this pretty little flower?" Mr. Pryce asked curiously.

"Oh, introductions, Mr. Pryce this is Aislynn Diggs, she's in my custody since her grandfather died, and Aislynn this is Mr. Pryce, he's an old friend." Dorothy said getting up.

"Dorothy what happened to your flats?" Aislynn asked

"Alex, got them confiscated, I have to go the Mr. Alistair's office before we leave, Aislynn, come back at lunch the ten minute break with be over soon." Dorothy said.

"I can go talk to Mr. Alistair if you'd like." Mr. Upland offered.

"No thanks, let it be part of my punishment, besides Mr. Alistair is really serious when it comes to confiscating stuff." Dorothy said sadly.

"Fair enough dear, you change your mind have Ellie contact me, or her sister." Mr. Upland said taking Aislynn's and walking out.

"Huh, cute kid." Mr. Pryce said tonelessly

"Yea, she's really smart." Ellie said happily.

"But, she's getting made fun of for It." Donna said concerned.

"Yea, I know, Alex made fun of her a lot at the library." Dorothy said.

"I know, I was there." Donna said.

"Fair enough." Dorothy replied as the bell rang.

Everyone rushed back into the class room and got back in their desks. Alex trudged back in with a yellow after school slip. Everyone oohed and awed at it. Mr. Pryce then picked up a large book that was on his desk and brought it down hard on the desk. Everyone turned and faced the teacher abruptly as he began going through the tests. Dorothy took out a pencil and began taking notes.

"Thanks a lot." Alex said sarcastically.

"Hey you took them, it's not my fault if you're foolish enough to do something stupid like that, and if you haven't noticed I'm stuck barefoot till the end of the day so we both lose." Dorothy whispered sternly as she continued taking notes.

After about maybe an hour of everyone taking notes, Mr. Pryce handed out their first assignment which was to pick a subject and subject, real or fiction and write about it.

"Typical." Alex said scoffing.

Dorothy rolled her eyes and looked at the paper. She knew exactly what she was going to write about. Her usual subject, Oz. she smiled and used the time Mr. Pryce was giving them as a head start.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes Ellie?" Dorothy responded.

"Please take notice they we seem to be the only ones not chatting with others." Ellie said worriedly.

"So? That's how Dorothy always is." Donna said.

"Well then, who am I to argue?" Ellie asked giggling.

Just then the lunch bell rang and everyone ran out to go find a nice place to eat lunch, Dorothy rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a sandwich. Ellie and Donna took out their lunches as well, which were also sandwiches.

"What kind?" Dorothy asked looking at her friends.

"Tuna." Donna said.

"Roast beef." Ellie added.

"Corned beef, bit dry, either of you have any mustard?" Mr. Pryce asked.

"My dad might have some." Ellie said.

"What was that my dear?" Mr. Upland said walking in followed by Aislynn who eating a bologna sandwich.

"We were wondering if you had any mustard on you." Dorothy said taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Actually I do, sweet Oz, am I the only one who carries condiments?" HE asked pulling a small bottle of mustard out of his pocket and tossing it to Mr. Pryce.

Mr. Pryce caught the bottle and put a small amount on his sandwich. He then threw the bottle back to Mr. Upland who caught it and pocketed it. Aislynn walked over to Dorothy and sat down on Ellie's lap. She began eating her own sandwich.

"Mm, bologna." She said making everyone chuckle.

"What do you have Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Pastrami." Dorothy said.

"Nice, anyways Ace, could you please get off my lap so that I can eat?" Ellie asked.

Aislynn got up and pulled up a chair for herself. She then finished off her sandwich and hugged Dorothy tightly.

"They still made fun of me Dorothy." Aislynn said tearing up.

"I understand that Ace, Mr. Upland, when get the chance go talk to Mr. Alistair about this?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Talk to me about what? Oh dear why is she crying?" Mr. Alistair asked concerned.

"Aislynn keeps getting made fun of for being smart." Dorothy said.

"Oh really? Dorothy you don't mind if I do some tests with Aislynn do you?" Mr. Alistair asked.

"Not really, but can I watch?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure, just come to my office and stay there when you come to get your shoes." Mr. Alistair said.

"I'm sorry Mr. Alistair but you'd have to talk to my uncle and aunt about that, you know about my punishment." Dorothy said sadly.

Mr. Alistair said not a word but walked out quickly, his office was just down the hall. He returned five minutes later smiling.

"Your aunt and uncle are on their way, they want to see how smart your girl is, and if she passes the test she'll be moved into this advanced class." Mr. Alistair said.

"Wait a minute, this is the advanced class uncle? But it all seems so easy." Donna said in a complaining tone.

"Hey Mr. Pryce has some very nice material." Mr. Alistair said smiling.

"That's good to know, do they know I got my flats taken?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, and they don't seem too thrilled about it." Mr. Alistair said remarking Dorothy's bare feet.

"Yea well you wouldn't be if it was you niece would you?" Dorothy asked.

"Good point." Mr. Alistair said.

"Anyways its Alex's fault uncle, I mean I'm sure he actually meant to hit you, and he seems to be enjoying the fact that everyone's snickering at Dorothy, and… I'm not helping am I?" Donna asked curiously.

"I don't really think so, no." Mr. Pryce said pulling out a toothpick.

"Right, well then, I'll be quiet not." Donna said shrinking down in her chair.

"So, I heard the corn harvesting will be starting soon." Mr. Upland said.

"Yep, next weekend, bring your own basket if you want a bushel." Dorothy said smiling.

"That reminds me Dorothy, why do you guys have that entire field of corn and wheat by your farm if you only use about a quarter of it then give the rest away?" donna asked curiously.

"Because it's a nice thing to do? Besides it gets the entire town to come together." Dorothy said,

"I heard that Mrs. And Mr. Kepelsen are opening their orchard again." Donna said.

"Oh that's nice, I love apples." Dorothy said.

"Hey Dorothy, remember when we were younger and used to think that Mrs. Kepelsen was a witch?" Donna asked curiously.

"Yea, turns out we misjudged her, and that's the last time I ever judge someone without getting to know them." Dorothy said giggling.

"Mr. Alistair, there's a phone call for you in your office." Came a voice over the P.A.

"Who would be calling me at lunch?" Mr. Alistair asked getting up and walking out.

"Well, lunch is almost over, hey Aislynn, don't look nervous, you'll do wonderful." Dorothy said finishing off her sandwich.

"Thanks Dorothy, but that's not why I'm nervous, am I going to have to help with the harvest?" Aislynn asked nervously.

"That's my uncle's decision ace, you should head back to the class room with Mr. Upland now." Dorothy said hugging Aislynn tightly.

"I hope that I can be in the advanced class with you guys." Aislynn said returning the embrace.

They then broke from embrace and Aislynn walked over to Mr. Upland. They both walked out just as the bell rang. It wasn't long before everyone started walking back into the classroom. When everyone was back in their seats Mr. Pryce handed out some papers that they were meant to give to their parents introducing them to Mr. Pryce and the year's syllabus. Everyone looked at it, and read through it. Alex groaned making everyone chuckle. Dorothy sighed the syllabus seem like it had easy enough things to learn. She looked at the clock. It was now half past noon. She then heard Ellie asked her a question.

"Do you think your aunt and uncle with let me come over so you can help with any homework I may have troubles with?" Ellie asked.

"Why don't you ask them later, remember I'm being punished, I can't really influence any decision they make." Dorothy said sighing

"So, I hope you all show these to your parents, grandparents, or whomever your legal guardian is." Mr. Pryce said.

The mention of parents brought memories back to Dorothy's first year at that school.

"_Don't worry Dorothy, you'll be fine." Auntie Em said._

"_Auntie Em, I'm beginning to feel ill." Dorothy said groaning._

"_Dorothy, that's just being nervous, it happens to the best of us." Auntie Em said chuckling._

_Dorothy then saw Mr. Alistair walking over to her. Dorothy hid behind her aunt in fright._

"_Good Morning Emily, Henry working today?" He asked curiously._

"_Yep, Mr. Alistair this is my niece Dorothy, I told you she would be coming this year because of her parents passing, Oh Dorothy come back! You'll have to excuse her, she is still upset about their passing." Em said running after Dorothy who ran off._

_When Dorothy finally stopped running she was near the library. It was then the Mrs. T came to her. As did her aunt._

"_Hello Dorothy." Mrs. T said._

"_Hello Mrs. T, how's the library?" Dorothy asked._

"_It's good, shouldn't you be at school though?" Mrs. T asked._

_Auntie Em came over and whispered something into Mrs. T's ear. Who then chuckled and looked at Dorothy._

"_So that's what happened?" Mrs. T asked as Mr. Alistair ran up to them._

"_Dorothy, we promise not to mention it again until you want to talk about it." Auntie Em said._

_Auntie Em then knelt down and used the apron she was wearing to wipe the tears that were forming in Dorothy's eyes._

"_Dorothy are you ready to start school?" Mr. Alistair asked calmly._

_Dorothy nodded and took her aunts hand and they walked back to the school._

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Ellie

"Ms. Gale, is something wrong?" Mr. Pryce asked.

Dorothy blinked, shook her head and looked up.

"Huh?" she asked realizing she had been crying without noticing.

"I asked if something was wrong, you were crying." Mr. Pryce said getting up from his desk and offering her a handkerchief.

"Mr. Pryce, may I talk to you in private for a second?" Ellie asked getting up.

"Sure, but what about?" he asked as he led Ellie into the hallway.

Dorothy began to tear up again, she needed to find a way to control her memories, they hurt to think about. Donna then took the handkerchief and dabbed Dorothy's eyes.

"What was that all about Dorothy?" Donna asked.

"Yea, I don't think I've ever seen yah cry before, didn't know you had it in yah to cry." Alex said.

"Alex, please don't tease." Donna said.

"Donna, admit have you ever seen Miss Goody two shoes here cry?" Alex asked.

Donna thought about it for a minute, she was stumped but she had only seen Dorothy truly cry once.

"Just once, before she came to live with her aunt and uncle." Donna said.

"And do you know why?" Alex asked.

"Alex, did anyone ever tell you why I live with my aunt and uncle?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, don't you'll only upset yourself again." Ellie said walking back in.

"So what? If he wants to be a jerk about it let him be a jerk." Dorothy said.

"Yea, keep out of it blondie!" Alex said.

"That is enough!" Mr. Pryce yelled loudly.

"Good gosh what is going on here?" Mr. Alistair asked running in.

"Alex was causing trouble again uncle." Donna said.

"Alex! You are just gearing for a phone call home!" Mr. Alistair said sternly.

Dorothy just sat there, holding back tears. She didn't want to say anything. Dorothy then looked at the clock. It now said half past one. The memories constantly coming back, she didn't know why. All she knew was that she didn't like it.

"Dorothy?" Mr. Alistair said.

"Y-yes?" Dorothy asked struggling to hold back her tears.

Mr. Alistair was about to say something when he went as pale as a ghost, Dorothy heard a collective gasp. Dorothy looked around the room and realized Alyssa and Glinda were standing in the door way. She gasped and they ran over to her.

"Hello, you must be Mr. Pryce." Glinda said.

Aislynn then ran into the room followed by Mr. Upland.

"Oh my, Dorothy." Aislynn said seeing Dorothy on the verge of tears and Glinda standing right in front of her.

"Oh good, two total strangers and nobodies concerned!?" Alex asked, everyone looked at him in anger and he shrunk back.

"Dorothy, just cry, you'll feel better." Alyssa said.

"Well they seem to know Dorothy well enough, which makes them perfectly safe strangers." Mr. Alistair said to Alex.

"So?" Alex asked.

"So, Shut up." Mr. Alistair said.

Alex fell silent and went into a bit of a pout. Dorothy couldn't stand the shouting anymore, she just completely broke down crying. Glinda wrapped her arms around Dorothy and stroked her hair.

"There, there Dorothy, I know you're upset, Mr. Pryce did you say something that might have made her remember something?" Glinda asked.

"Um, let me think, I noticed Ellie here trying to get Dorothy to snap out of it when I was reading through the syllabus a second time, I mentioned that they should bring the papers to them their parents Ellie here then told me about the predicament." He said.

"And you said this twice?" Alyssa asked.

"Alyssa if you wouldn't mind, take Aislynn back to our dad's class." Glinda said.

Aislynn groaned and walked out with Alyssa. Glinda sighed and looked at Mr. Pryce.

"I assume she didn't tell you about Dorothy's problem?" She asked turning to Ellie.

"Sis you know I wouldn't embarrass Dorothy in anyway." Ellie said.

"So, you're Ellie's sister?" Donna asked.

"Yes, no time for proper introductions, But I'm assuming you're Donna, Ellie has told me so much about you." Glinda said.

Dorothy was getting tired of this, she was beginning to feel tired, and she then heard a loud booming voice that she knew all too well.

"I told you!" the voice of the jester said cackling.

Dorothy pushed away from Glinda, she grasped the scepter in her hands and stood up.

"He wouldn't come here, not while I'm here!" Glinda said worriedly as Alyssa ran back in.

The school bell finally rang and everyone crowded out. Aislynn then ran back in followed by Mr. Upland who had a worried expression on his face and a new looking mustard stain.

"Oh dad, you've made a right mess of your self haven't you?" Glinda said giggling.

"I heard the voice, and panicked, is he here?" he asked picking at the stain.

"No dad, I think it was just him projecting his voice, Mr. Pryce are you okay?" Glinda asked looking at Mr. Pryce who seemed about ready to vomit.

"I, I think I need to lie down." He said.

"Go to my office, there's a psychiatrist couch in there." Mr. Alistair said.

"Why do you have a psychiatrist couch?" Ellie asked curiously.

"My aunt is not a good interior decorator." Donna said chuckling.

Dorothy couldn't help but smile at that statement. Then the secretary's voice came over the PA.

"Dorothy gale, Mr. Alistair, Aislynn diggs, and the visiting party please report to the office, Mr. and Mrs. Gale are here to see you all." She said.

Dorothy got up, grabbed her stuff and ran out of the room. It didn't take her long to reach Mr. Alistair's office where her aunt and uncle were waiting along with Mr. Pryce who seemed to be having a hard time wrapping his head around all this. Dorothy saw that her flats were on Mr. Alistair's desk, but she didn't dare touch them. She set the scepter against the wall and ran over to her aunt and uncle. She then embraced them and began crying again.

"So I mentioned the word, and she had a memory?" Mr. Pryce asked.

"From what we've been able to understand yes." Henry said rubbing his niece's back in a circular motion.

"Mr. Pryce, could you please go back to your room get the testing materials?" Mr. Alistair said walking in.

"Sure." He said getting up and running out.

"So the mention of the word parents sets her off?" Mr. Alistair asked as everyone looked at him angrily.

On the mention of the word parents Dorothy began to remember the first teacher she ever had, she made that same mistake in mentioning the word when Dorothy was younger.

"_Now I would like you all to give these papers to your parents." Ms. Ash said in a cheerful tone._

_Dorothy froze, she didn't like that word._

"_Ms. Ash, I think there's something wrong with Dorothy." One of Dorothy's class mates pointed out._

"_Dorothy? Is something wrong?" Ms. Ash asked curiously._

_Dorothy didn't say anything, she just got up and ran out of the room. She ran to the point where she almost got out of the school before she was apprehended by Mr. Alistair who seemed to have been waiting for her._

"_Oh dear, did Ms. Ash?" Mr. Alistair asked trailing off._

_Dorothy nodded sadly. Mr. Alistair knelt down and pulled Dorothy into a hug._

"_I'm so sorry." He said._

"Dorothy!?" came the voice of Aislynn

"Dorothy you were remembering again." Ellie said wiping some tears from Dorothy's eyes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale you don't mind if I take Dorothy to Oz do you?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Just this once Glinda I don't want Dorothy to think she can get out of her punishment by going to Oz." Em said sighing.

"Aislynn, are you ready for your tests?" Mr. Alistair and Alyssa asked in unison.

"Whenever you're ready I'm ready." Aislynn said.

Dorothy didn't even get a chance to object before she felt the scepter being forced into her hands and she felt herself lurch forward. She felt the dizzy and sick feeling that she didn't like and then found her bare feet making contact with the floor of the chambers. She fell forward into the arms of the china princess.

"Dorothy? Glinda? Why is she here I thought she was being punished?" The princess asked.

"She is, but she had another memory." Alyssa said appearing behind them.

"Oh dear, Dorothy, you just keep crying, I'll have my husband make some of that mint tea." The princess said walking out.

Glinda put the scepter down against the throne and Dorothy walked over and sat in it. Hugging her knees to her chest she began to cry harder. She had just humiliated herself in front of the entire class by spacing out the way she did. Her memories were going to be the end of her and she knew it. She cried for a few more minutes before the smell of mint reached her nostrils. She then felt the china princess tapped her on the shoulder. Dorothy looked up and saw the china princess who handed her a mug of tea.

"Thanks." She said weakly.

"Dorothy, do you want to talk about what you were remembering?" the princess asked.

Dorothy shook her head, she then took a sip of tea. She sighed and smiled.

"Dorothy, remember if you ever want to talk about it we will be there for you." The princess said.

"Dorothy, you know you can confide in me without being humiliated and having your secrets given away." Ellie said appearing carrying Dorothy's flats.

"I know Ellie, but I really don't like talking about it." Dorothy said taking another sip of tea.

Ellie sighed and walked over to Dorothy. She set her flats down on the floor and placed her hand on Dorothy's.

"I have some good news." Ellie said.

"What's that?" Dorothy asked.

"Aislynn passed the tests, if you want, she's eligible to be in our class." Ellie said.

"Ellie, have Glinda send you back and tell them I'm proud of her and yes I would like that." Dorothy said weakly.

"Dorothy?" the princess asked curiously.

"Yes princess?" Dorothy asked.

"Try to stay out of trouble." The princess said giggling.

Dorothy smiled and placed the cup of tea on the arm of the throne. She then got up and slid into her flats. She looked at Ellie and smiled, she then picked up the scepter and immediately felt herself lurch forward. She closed her eyes and waited for the usual problems to stop. She then felt herself come to an abrupt halt and fell forwards landing in a grassy field. She got up and saw she was at her farmhouse again. She smiled and got up. And ran at it as fast as she could.

**Wow this chapter took a while to write. Anyways, a challenge for all of you. Throughout the story I have been giving more and more problems for the character's to deal with. What is the biggest challenge I have created that one of the characters must over come? **


	26. Thursday Pt1

**Insert my usual disclaimer here, kinda odd I still have to put it there.**

_Three days later._

"Dorothy, would you like to answer the question for once?" Mr. Pryce said referring to the math problem on the chalk board.

Dorothy wrote some equation on the board and tried to solve it. It took her a few minutes before she finally came up with an answer.

"Um… doing it out I got Forty-two, is that right?" Dorothy asked.

"Correct, by the way, where's Aislynn today?" he asked curiously referring to the empty desk.

"She wasn't feeling well today." Dorothy said.

"Can you bring her homework home?" he asked.

"Sure thing Mr. Pryce." Dorothy said as the bell rang.

"Well see you all tomorrow, enjoy your early dismissal." Mr. Pryce said as everyone ran out of the room.

Dorothy looked to her next to her and saw Ellie's empty seat. Ellie and Aislynn were sitting in for Dorothy at the war council. She wished she could be there but she was still being in her punishment. Alex had taken to making paper darts and throwing them at Dorothy's feet. She had taken off her flats again and put them in her satchel. She took them out and slid them on. She then got up, grabbed the scepter and walked to Mr. Pryce's desk.

"Here's her work, she really is a brilliant kid." He said getting up.

"I'll tell her you said that." Dorothy said putting the papers in her satchel.

"Dorothy, your uncle called, he and your aunt are busy, he asked me to drive you home." Mr. Alistair said looking at Donna who was also still in the room.

"Thanks Mr. Alistair, oh and I have a message from my aunt, the tractors tailpipe is blocked by something." Dorothy said tightening her grip on the scepter and walking out of the room with him.

"I'll see what I can do about that when we get there, I noticed Ellie and Aislynn were out today as was Mr. Upland, I'm assuming Oz?" he asked as they walked out the school.

"War council, everyone seems prepared for all-out war, getting a bit chilly out, makes me glad the first harvest is Saturday." Dorothy said smiling.

"Same here, anyways, come on." He said as they got to his car.

Dorothy opened the passenger door, took off her satchel and got in. soon they were at the gale farm. Dorothy got out of the car and ran up to the farmhouse to find her Aunt and uncle on the roof fixing a loose shingle. Dorothy laughed and they waved.

"Lunch is on the table sweetheart, thanks for driving her Mr. Alistair!" Em shouted.

"When you're done dear would you mind checking the horseshoes on the horse?" Henry asked.

"Sure thing uncle henry." Dorothy said walking into the house.

Dorothy sighed and laughed as Toto ran up to her. She picked him up and walked over to the dining room table. She noticed there was a small inscription next to the plate that her sandwich and apple were on.

"Teak's hardwood furniture and house furnishings." Dorothy read to herself taking a bite of the sandwich "I wonder if it's owned by Alex's parents?" Dorothy asked herself.

"Dorothy! The sheriff is here, apparently the jester has been spotted!" Em shouted.

Dorothy choked and quickly got up. She and Toto ran into the house.

"Auntie Em please tell me for once you're just trying to keep me on my toes." Dorothy said, but her heart drop when she saw the sheriff and a family she recognized from town holding their crying child.

"She hasn't stopped crying, we've done all we could to pacify her but we saw a strange man in a jesters outfit in our house. He stole some of our lawn ornaments and vanished." The man said.

"Must be trying something new." Dorothy said.

"That's what I said." The sheriff said wiping his brow and covering his ears from the crying child.

"Here let me try." Dorothy said holding out her arms.

"If you think it will help." The mother said handing her baby to Dorothy

Dorothy took the child and cradled her in her arms. She walked carefully back over to the porch and sat down. She looked at the child in the face and smiled.

"Shh, it's okay little one, he can't hurt you." She said in a calm voice.

She smiled as this seemed to attract the child's attention, she then began to hum the tune of 'Hush little baby' and the child gradually stopped crying. Soon she was asleep in Dorothy's arms breathing calmly. The man and women sighed in relief. Alex then ran up in a panic.

"Put my!...Put my little sister down." He said going into whisper.

Dorothy handed the child back to the woman."

"So, you must be Mrs. Teak." Dorothy said smiling.

"I see you guessed that, and you're Dorothy gale, I'm amazed that you managed to stop her from crying, how did you do it?" she asked curiously.

"I don't know, it just sort of, came to me I guess." Dorothy said shrugging.

"Alex, don't just stand there with your mouth open you'll catch flies." Mr. Teak said.

"Father, this girl is a menace, she has made a fool of me…" he started to say before Mr. Alistair walked over and cut him off.

"Because you choose to make a fool of your self does not mean that it is entirely her fault, and might I remind you if it weren't for her the jester's attack would have hit you." He said.

"You know, I really love you sometimes Alexander, why don't you come over for dinner more often?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Because Donna's parents are constantly buying things in bulk, you and fenny got dad's ability to be successful with business, I got mom's ability to lead and constantly worry, why do you think my wife and I don't have any kids?" Mr. Alistair said nervously.

Dorothy was now dumbstruck, Donna and Alex were cousins? To her it made sense and all, she always seemed to defend Alex and Mr. .Alistair did seem to have some sort of control over him. Dorothy however was snapped out of thought when Alex walked over to her.

"You about to cry again? You were making a strange face." Alex asked curiously.

"No, I was just thinking about something, never knew that you and Donna were related." Dorothy said.

"I try to keep that a secret, but the secrets out now that you know, I suppose you're going to get back at me and tell everyone?" he asked sounding defeated.

Ellie and Aislynn then appeared behind Dorothy. Aislynn lost her but caught herself on Dorothy. They giggled and then they saw Alex, with his jaw hanging open. Dorothy reached her hand over and pushed his chin up so his mouth closed.

"What is HE doing here?" Ellie asked angrily.

"Long story Ellie, and Alex." Dorothy said.

"Sorry what?" he asked.

"Your secret's safe with us, don't worry." Dorothy said giggling.

"And you think I trust you?" He asked.

"You think we trust you?" Ellie retorted.

"Ellie!" Dorothy said gasping and hitting Ellie on the shin with the back of her hand.

"Dorothy! He's a bully!" Ellie said.

"Ellie, things won't get any better if we're always at each other's necks." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, but don't think this will change the way I act in school." He said.

"I can live with that, I wouldn't expect better." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Fair enough, out of curiosity, what allowed your friends to just appear there?" he asked.

"I'd tell you, but you should ask your cousin, it will give you bedtime story to tell your baby sister." Dorothy smiling.

"Who's his cousin?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Donna." Dorothy said making them gasp.

"I'm so sorry for her." Ellie said.

Dorothy took off one of her flats and hit Ellie in the shin again with it.

"Ellie be nice, this is my home, and we show hospitality." Dorothy said.

"Fine." Ellie said looking at him and sticking out her tongue.

Alex laughed loudly and walked back over to his parents. As soon as they were off the farmland Dorothy told Ellie and Aislynn why they were here.

"We know the jester was spotted here, we just didn't know it had anything to do with the Teaks" Ellie said sighing.

"How was the war council?" Dorothy said getting up and walking back into the house to grab the apple she didn't get to eat.

"It was nice, sorry you had to miss it, though Glinda's face turned a very funny reddish pink color when she found out the jester showed up here in Kansas." Aislynn said giggling.

"I wish hadn't gotten punished." Dorothy said looking at the scepter.

"What's your chore for today?" Ellie asked.

"Checking the horse shoes on the horse, also Ace your homework's in my satchel." Dorothy said finishing off her apple.

"That's nice, where's your horse brush?" Aislynn asked.

"Why?" Dorothy asked slyly.

"I like grooming the horse." Aislynn said going to Dorothy's satchel and pulling out her homework.

"Aislynn you've done it several times when you got the chance." Dorothy said.

"Yea ace, I think you need a break." Ellie said.

"But its fun, and it keeps Dorothy company." Aislynn said as Dorothy got up, grabbed the scepter and walked over to the back door/

Ellie and Aislynn looked at each other and shrugged. Aislynn set her homework on the table and sighed.

"Should we go after her?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Of course." Ellie said as they ran out the back door after her.

When they got to the barn they found Dorothy sitting on a stool horse hoof in one hand hammer in the other. She tapped down the horse shoe and jiggled it a few times. As it didn't move this time she smiled in relief.

"Only one was loose this time." Dorothy said.

"You don't let him out that often." Ellie said.

"Not my choice." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough." Ellie replied petting the horse's mane

"Dorothy! Have you checked the horse shoes yet!" came the voice of uncle henry.

Dorothy got up, put down the hammer, grabbed the scepter and walked to the barn door.

"Yes Uncle Henry, Do you need something!?" Dorothy shouted.

"No, just making sure you did your chore." Came his voice.

"Kay!" Dorothy shouted.

"So Dorothy, how was school?" Ellie asked.

"Eh, I had paper darts being thrown at me by Alex." Dorothy said shrugging.

"Dorothy! Go inside and help auntie Em start making dinner!" came the voice of uncle henry.

"Okay!" Dorothy shouted tightening her grip on the scepter and walking out of the barn.

"So Alex was a jerk as usual?" Ellie said following after her.

"Yes, but..." Dorothy said trailing off

"But what?" Aislynn asked

"Never mind, you two have fun." Dorothy said walking back into the house

As Dorothy walked in she saw her aunt washing some lettuce in the sink.

"Dorothy be a dear and grab the knife I use for cutting vegetables." Em asked

Dorothy nodded and walked over to the knife rack, she pulled out a large serrated one and handed it to her aunt.

"What you making for supper?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Ham and salad, the ham is in the oven already." Em said.

Dorothy walked over to the oven and opened it a little, she was hit with a blast of warm air and the smell of cooking ham. She sighed and set down the scepter,

"What's the occasion?" Dorothy asked curiously

"I invited the Uplands over for dinner, go tell Ellie to get washed up, her parents and sister will be here in an hour or two." Em said chopping up the lettuce.

"Auntie Em, how did you off all people get Glinda to come over for dinner?" Dorothy asked gasping.

"I have my ways." Em said.

Dorothy sighed and walked back out.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout._

The jester was laughing wickedly looking into the crystal ball.

"Dorothy gale will be a cat in two day's time, and I think it will be funny." He said doing a cartwheel.

"_Auntie Em Aislynn wants to know if she will have to help with the first harvest on Saturday."_ Dorothy said, her voice emitting from the crystal along with some static.

"Enjoy it Dorothy gale, you have a surprise coming your way" He said looking at the pile of lawn ornaments, "and once I finish making that special powder you lawn ornaments will be my first test subjects." He added laughing

The jester then flicked the wand again and the crystal ball switched to the image of Glinda. She was attempting to work her magic to block his spell from spreading out side of munchkin land. He smiled and watched as Alison walked into the room.

"_Glinda your working yourself ragged, you need to get some rest." Alison said worriedly._

"_Alison, its taking all my power to keep that spell from spreading, every moment that I rest his spell spreads closer to the borders of munchkin land, and if it reaches further I'll be powerless to stop it." Glinda said sadly._

"_Glinda, let me take over then, I know the spell, and you know that." Alison said pulling out her book._

"_Alison the spell will weaken you, you are too young and are not yet ready to try to cast a spell this powerful." Glinda said sighing._

"Oh Glinda, sweet Glinda, you try so hard to protect our home, but you know it's hopeless in the end." The jester said watching the scene unfold.

"_Glinda, I am ready and willing to take that risk, you know that, but you could wind up killing yourself if you keep this up." Alison said._

"_Alison you and I both know that I will take any risks to keep the Land of Oz safe, I am worried that it may come down to using 'The Spell'." Glinda said in a worried tone._

"_Glinda, you and I both know that spell is forbidden, using it is the most dangerous thing that there is." Alison said sternly._

"What Spell!?" the jester asked angrily.

"_Alison, it's forbidden to the point where it shall only be used if the land is in so much danger that no other spell can be used to protect it." Glinda said getting up and walking over to a large, ancient looking, leather bound book resting on a pedestal_

"_Glinda have some sense, what would your father say? What would your sister say? Or your cousin the witch of the south? Glinda, none of them would agree to ever let you use it!" Alison shouted._

"_Alison, the spell can be used twice with only the risk of weakening me to a great extent, I would be unconscious for days, the third time would kill me, and I have not yet used this spell so I am in no risk yet." Glinda said opening the book and searching through it._

"_Fine! Then use it! Just not tonight, you have dinner with the gales remember?" Alison asked walking over and closing the book,_

It was then that the jester realized what the book was.

"The Grimmerie? Oh Glinda we are being bad now aren't we?" the jester asked chuckling wickedly.

He then did a few backflips and slid the wand up his sleeve, the crystal went dark and he walked out of the room. As he did he looked back at the lawn ornaments and smiled.

"Soon, very soon." He said cackling.

_Later at the gale residence._

There was a knock on the door. Dorothy ran over and opened it.

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Upland, dinner is almost ready, I'll go get Ellie." Dorothy said running back to her room.

She didn't get too far before Glinda appeared right in front of her. She was now in a light blue dress that matched her pink one in style. She smiled and hugged Dorothy tightly. Dorothy looked into Glinda's eyes. She didn't like what she saw, pain and sorrow, once more made themselves known in her eyes. But now there was more, she frowned for a bit then side stepped around Glinda. She then walked to her room and opened the door.

"Are they here yet?" Aislynn asked.

Dorothy nodded and picked up the scepter which had been leaning by the bedroom door. Ellie and Aislynn then got up and walked out of the room around Dorothy. Dorothy walked over to the bed and sat down on it. She then picked up of Toto and held him so they could make eye contact.

"Oh Toto, what are we going to do?" Dorothy asked taking Toto and the scepter and walking out.

When she got to the dining room she found Glinda looking at her aunt and uncle sternly as they recounted the events of what had happened earlier. Ellie turned around and saw Dorothy, she then motioned for her to come over and gave her a sad look. Dorothy sighed and walked over as her aunt got up to retrieve dinner. Dorothy sat down in her usual chair at the table and looked at everyone. The mood immediately lifted from one of frustration to light and happy.

"So, Dorothy, My father tells me you have been doing well in school so far." Glinda said smiling.

"Yes I have, thank you for mentioning it." Dorothy set setting Toto in her lap.

"It's my pleasure dear, anyways, your aunt was telling me the jester has been stealing lawn ornaments, why do you think that is?" Glinda asked her curiously.

"I don't know, do you have any ideas?" Dorothy asked curiously

"Sort of, but I really hope I'm wrong about it." Glinda said.

"What is it?" Dorothy asked.

"I'd rather not speak of it, for the magic I speak of is forbidden in all form." Glinda said shuddering.

Dorothy was worried, if Glinda was afraid then it wasn't good.

"So Mr. Upland, how's life as a teacher?" henry asked quickly trying to change the subject

"Oh its good, very good, I missed it today for the council though." Mr. Upland said chuckling.

Henry opened his mouth to say something but there was a knock on the door. Henry got up and walked quickly walked into the next room. They soon heard the sound of door opening.

"Oh, Officer Grey, do come in." they heard him say.

After a few seconds the sheriff walked in followed by Dorothy's uncle.

"Good evening officer Grey." Dorothy said looking nervous.

"Hello Dorothy, Mr. Gale, Dorothy is needed at the teaks residence, the jester was spotted at their house again, and once more their child won't stop crying." Officer grey said.

Both Dorothy and Glinda shot out of their seats. Dorothy tightened her grip on the scepter and looked at Glinda.

"Glinda please don't worry about it, I can take care of it." Dorothy said getting up and walking over to the sheriff.

"What did the jester take this time?" Glinda asked curiously and getting up as well.

"He was in their garden taking some clippings from their Alder berry bush." he said.

"That's strange, is there any magic that require elderberries?" Ellie asked looking at her sister.

"Not that I'm aware of, I've never heard of the plant." Glinda said walking over.

Dorothy was about to add something to the conversation when her aunt emerged from the kitchen carrying a large ham on an even larger plate and set it on the table. She saw the sheriff and gasped.

"Oh, Officer Grey, what brings you here?" Em asked curiously

"The jester was spotted again, same place, they request Dorothy be brought there asap." He replied.

"Why don't you join us for dinner first?" Em said offering him a seat.

"Sorry Mrs. Gale but I'm on duty, besides my wife doesn't like me eating while I'm on duty." He said taking off his hat.

"Will you be long?" Henry asked curiously.

"Maybe a good ten or twenty minutes, the house is just on the other side of town." He said.

"Dorothy, if you want we can wait for you." Mrs. Upland said smiling.

"No, please don't wait for me, I'll just eat when I get back, that's all." Dorothy said.

"Officer, Grey was it? If it's alright with you, I would like to come as well." Glinda requested.

"Doesn't matter to me mam, but we really must be going now." Officer grey said turning around and walking out.

Dorothy nodded and took Glinda's hand. They followed Officer grey out of the house and to his truck. Dorothy looked up at Glinda and frowned. Soon they were all in Officer Grey's truck and driving to the teak residence. They sat in silence until they got there. The house was similar to theirs in style and design but next to it was their furniture store. He pulled up to the front walk and both Dorothy and Glinda quickly got out of the truck and ran up the door. Dorothy winced at the sound of hearing the sound of crying coming from the inside of the house. The sheriff ran up and knocked on the door. The door opened and they were greeted by Mr. Teak. Glinda explained who she was to him and then Mr. Teak lead Dorothy into the living room to where Mrs. Teak was cradling her child in her arms, the child was screaming loudly, she was scared and frightened as her mother was. Dorothy walked over and Mrs. Teak looked at her with tears in her eyes.

"That man, there's something about him that scares us all." She said.

Dorothy sighed and set the scepter down. She then held out her arms to receive the child. Mrs. Teak shuddered and carefully handed her child to Dorothy. She took the child in her arms and carefully cradled her. The child gradually began to stop crying and grew quiet. Dorothy smiled and handed the baby girl back to Mrs. Teak.

"There, maybe now you can try and get her to sleep, what's her name by the way?" Dorothy asked curiously wondering why she hadn't asked earlier.

"Her name is Anabella, and Dorothy thank you for coming, you seem to be the only one who can pacify her if the jester shows up." Mrs. Teak said setting Annabella in her playpen.

"d-d-d-d" Annabella started to stutter out.

Dorothy and Mrs. Teak looked at the child in surprise.

"How old is she?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Almost a year old." Mrs. Teak said tonelessly and looking at her daughter a bit shocked.

"D-d-d-Dorothy." she finally managed to stutter out.

"Oh my God! Her first word, Dorothy, your name my dear was her first word!" Mrs. Teak said excitedly as Mr. Teak and Glinda ran into the room followed by the sheriff.

"We heard a commotion, is everything alright?" Officer grey asked curiously.

Dorothy was about to say something when she heard Annabella shaking her playpen. They all turned to face her and the small child pointed at Dorothy.

"Dorothy!" Annabella said sternly.

"Her first word!" Mr. Teak said as the clock struck six.

"Oh, time to go pick up Alex." Mrs. Teak said reaching for her coat.

"Dear, don't worry, I'll go get him, and you relax, Dorothy, thank you." Mr. Teak said happily grabbing his own coat off a nearby table and running out.

Dorothy smiled and walked back over to the scepter, picking it up she looked at Glinda and smiled. The phone then rang and Glinda told Mrs. Teak she would get it. As Glinda left the room, the sheriff looked out the window at his truck and noticed that his radio was blinking, he gasped and ran out to it. The sound of the phone dropping was heard from the other room. Glinda then ran in, looking as though she was panicking.

"Dorothy, that was your aunt and uncle, Dorothy, I want you to listen to me, and take these as orders!" Glinda said sternly.

Dorothy stood there speechless, nothing really worried Glinda, but if Glinda was worried then she knew she should be worried. Only one question popped into her head.

"Please explain to me why first!?" she asked concerned

"The jester was spotted at your farmhouse, you are to stay here until we come back and give you an all clear, is that okay with you?" Glinda asked trying to finish the sentence as quickly as possible.

Dorothy stood there speechless, she felt upset, and this just wasn't fair, not this time. Dorothy saw the sheriff's truck drive away. Dorothy began to feel faint. She soon felt herself being sat down in a chair and a cup of water placed in her hand a few minutes later.

"Dorothy?" She heard Mrs. Teak finally say.

"W-wha-what? Oh, sorry, I'm just a bit shocked." Dorothy said taking a sip from the cup.

"I called your aunt and uncle, they're sending your friends to stay with some friends, did you know your apparently your uncle owns a gun?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Call them back and tell them only to try and take a shot if he attacks first." Dorothy said.

"Good idea, would you mind watching Annabella for me while I call them?" She asked referring to her daughter in the playpen.

Dorothy nodded as Mrs. Teak quickly walked out of the room. Dorothy then looked down at the child who was trying to get her attention.

"Dorothy?" she asked whacking a small fist on her playpen.

Dorothy smiled and leaned over to the child. She then tapped the child playfully on the nose making her giggle. Dorothy smiled and got up. She then bent over and picked up Annabella and cradled her in her arms. The small child giggled and playfully tugged at one of Dorothy's pigtails. Dorothy winced a bit and smiled.

"Easy Annabella." Dorothy said as the tiny child tugged at her hair giggling.

"Awe how cute! She really likes you Dorothy." Mrs. Teak said walking back into the room.

Dorothy was about to say something when the front door opened and Alex walked pass the living room and up the stairs not even taking notice of Dorothy. That is until he realized and something and they heard a loud thud and him running down the stairs.

"What the heck is SHE doing here!?" he asked sounding quite concerned.

"Alex!" Came the voice of Mr. Teak as he stormed into the house.

"Dorothy will be staying here for a few hours, or until she gets the all clear to go home, the jester returned here and then left, Dorothy showed up, stopped her from crying, and then the jester showed up at her house, she showed us some hospitality now it's time to show some hospitality back." Mrs. Teak said gritting her teeth.

"Dorothy." Annabella said making Mrs. Teak laugh.

"Oh Great! Now my little sister loves the girl who seems to bring disaster and that dang jester in her wake!" He said storming up the stairs, soon after they heard the sound of a door slamming.

"Well, that went well, Dorothy why don't you go to the kitchen and wash up, I'll fix you something to eat, your aunt said you hadn't eaten yet when we asked Officer grey to bring you here, it's time for Annabella to go to bed anyways." Mrs. Teak said looking at the clock, which now read seven fifteen.

Dorothy smiled and handed Annabella back to Mrs. Teak who carefully carried her up the stairs. Mr. Teak then came in carrying a box full of large bits of wood. Dorothy got up grabbed the scepter and ran over to help him.

"Thanks Dorothy dear, the sheriff met me outside, you may have to stay the night…" Mr. Teak started to say before Alex came running down the stairs and cut him off.

"Father, I will not have stay in this house!" He yelled.

"Alex be quiet your mother is putting Annabella to bed." Mr. Teak said in a whisper.

"Have her stay in the guest room in the shop, but I don't want her in this house." Alex said sternly.

Dorothy was about to cut in but the sheriff ran into the house followed by Glinda who was now carrying a box.

"Dorothy… was he the one that was yelling?" Glinda asked.

"Yes, oh..." Dorothy said as she noticed Alex was amazed at Glinda's beauty.

Dorothy smiled and moved her hand to push Alex's mouth shut. Alex shook his head and turned around.

"It must be Thursday, I never could get the hang of Thursdays." He mumbled to himself.

**So I've decided to make this a two parter before first harvest. That's the way the cookie crumbles though I guess.**


	27. Its odd isnt it?(Thursday part2)

**Disclaimer; Well you know by now**

_Meanwhile in Oz_

Ellie was watching the scene unfold in the Teak residence. Aislynn was asleep in the throne, Finley was now flying laps around the room and Toto was chasing him around.

"Finley, if you wouldn't mind, please land I don't want ace to get woken up, she's had a busy day." Ellie said.

"Yes mam, how's Dorothy making out?" Finley asked.

"Pretty well, Glinda just got there with one of Dorothy's nightgowns, looks like she may have to spend the night, I can't bear to think of her staying in the same house as that kid." Ellie said shuddering/

"Well maybe you've misjudged him? Maybe he has a soft side?" Finely asked listing off possibilities.

"Thanks Finley love you too." Ellie said sarcastically.

"Humph." Was the only remark he made.

"Finley why don't you go find some work to do?" Ellie asked curiously.

Finley nodded and flew out of the room. Ellie smiled and looked back at the crystal. She waved a hand over it and it went dark. Using the crystal ball without Glinda here was absolutely forbidden for her to do but she couldn't resist watching the happenings at the teak residence. She knew though that Glinda wouldn't be till morning, because if the jester was around, she would be trying to get him.

_Meanwhile in Kansas._

"Em, do you think he'll come back?" Henry asked loading the muzzle on his rifle.

"I don't know henry, but please be careful with that thing, it gives me the willies." Em said shuddering

"Em, don't worry I know what I'm doing, just pray that Dorothy will be alright tonight." Henry said sighing.

"I'm glad Glinda was able to come and get some of Dorothy's things, though this goes against her punishment I guess it's all for the better." Em walking over to the window and looked out.

_Meanwhile at the teak's_

"Dad I said I don't want her here!" Alex whispered out, complaining.

Dorothy and Mr. Teak were about to say something when Glinda cut in. she grabbed Alex's wrist and took him to the side, Dorothy followed.

"Alex, you listen to me and you listen good, Understand!?" she whispered out sternly

"Yes mam" he said nodding quickly.

"Good, now, the jester has now been both here and the gale residence, correct?" she asked him.

"yes." Alex said quickly.

"And you understand that she is in grave danger correct?" she asked as well

Alex just nodded.

"Now I can put protections around your house and the shop, but they are only affective if Dorothy is here, so you are going to buck up and deal with it or you can just go out there and face the jester on your own!" Glinda said sternly.

"Glinda!" Dorothy gasped out in shock.

"Ms., whatever your name is, I will not have you threatening my son." Mr. Teak said as Mrs. Teak came down the stairs.

"Oh, I'm not threatening him, heavens I would never pit someone against that kind of evil, not intentionally anyways." Glinda said as Dorothy looked at her as if to say 'Seriously?'

"Well that's a relief, I guess." Mr. Teak said as Mrs. Teak came down the steps.

"Would you guys please quiet down, Annabella is now asleep, oh, hello you were the woman that came here with Dorothy right?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Yes, my name is Glinda, I'm a good friend of Dorothy, and you already know the sheriff." Glinda said smiling.

"Hello officer grey, what brings you back?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"A message from the gale's, they think it would be a good idea if Dorothy stays here provided that Miss Glinda her stays as well, hence the box she came in with, it has Dorothy's and her own sleepwear, do you have a guest bedroom?" officer grey asked curiously

"We have two, one where Alex keeps his knick-knacks and stuff and the other is just a conventional guest room." Mrs. Teak said.

"Good, because like I said, Dorothy and Ms. Glinda will be staying the night, they only need to stay till morning or until we give an all clear." Officer grey said.

Dorothy looked at Glinda for a second, then turned to Alex who looked like he was about to throw a fit or something. Glinda was about to say something before Alex cut her off.

"But, I, Don't, want her to stay here!" Alex shouted.

A few seconds later crying was heard from upstairs. Mrs. Teak sighed and looked at Alex angrily.

"For Christ sakes, Alex, you know I put your sister to bed at this time, why would you shout?" Mrs. Teak asked through gritted teeth.

"My dear, you go and relax, I'll take care of Annabella." Mr. Teak said sighing, "Alex, you go get the guest rooms set up." he added.

Alex stood there for a few seconds then he went, rather reluctantly back upstairs. Dorothy then looked at Mr. Teak and held her hand up so that he wouldn't follow his son.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her, you two should both have a chance to relax." Dorothy said smiling.

"Dorothy, you are our guest, we couldn't ask you to do that." Mrs. Teak said.

"I insist Mrs. Teak, you guys just go, Glinda, keep an eye on them, and make sure they get a chance to relax." Dorothy said walking over to the stairs.

Glinda nodded and Dorothy walked up the stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs she felt a chill go down her spine, as if she knew that they weren't the only presence in this house. Dorothy shivered and walked over to the source of the crying. The door to the room was open a crack, Dorothy shivered as she felt a cool breeze blow out of it. She quietly pushed the door open and ran over to the crib that the crying child was bawling her eyes out in. she set the scepter up against the crib and carefully picked up the child.

"Shh, it's alright now, Shh." Dorothy said lightly rocking the child.

Annabella gradually began to stop crying and began to start giggling. Dorothy smiled and chuckled as the child playfully tugged at one of her pigtails. It was then that Dorothy heard a click and saw a bright flash. She shook her head and looked towards the source of the clicking sound and saw the jester sitting on the window with an instant print camera. The picture hummed out of the machine and fell to the ground in front of him.

"What a touching display." He said chuckling.

Annabella heard the voice and turned to face the jester. She saw him and gulped, and then nuzzled into Dorothy's chest.

"What do you want now!?" Dorothy whispered quietly.

"Why do you always assume I want something?" He asked teasingly

"Well your scaring Annabella." She said as Annabella shivered in her arms.

"Well, let's take another picture, smile" he said pressing the button on the camera.

It clicked and flashed, Dorothy shook her head again then gently set Annabella down in the crib. She then picked up the scepter and aimed it at him.

"Where did you even get that camera!?" Dorothy asked sternly.

"Oh, this old thing? I picked it up from a little nick-knack store down the street." He said chuckling.

It was then that the jester dropped the camera and vanished. The camera flashed and released another picture. She then walked over to it and picked up the camera. She pushed the down flash compartment and placed it on a nearby shelf.

"Dorothy are you okay in there?" Glinda asked appearing in the door way.

"Yea, I'm fine, I don't think Annabella will be asleep for a while though, she's frightened." Dorothy said walking back over to the crib.

"Jester?" Glinda asked curiously.

"You guessed it, left that instant develop camera that I put over there, and here are the pictures." Dorothy said pointing to them.

Glinda pulled out her wand and mumbled something pointing it at the camera. Nothing happened so she sighed in relief and walked over to the camera and the pictures. She looked at the pictures and chuckled.

"Awe, how cute." She said picking up the three picture.

Dorothy walked over and looked over at the pictures. They really were cute. She then walked back over to the crib and picked up Annabella.

"Dorothy why don't you bring Annabella downstairs? I'll keep an eye out for him in case he returns." Glinda said.

Dorothy nodded and took Annabella out of the room. She was still shivering in her arms.

"Don't worry Annabella, he can't hurt you I won't let him, neither will your momma or your papa." Dorothy said as she realized that the scepter was floating out of her grasp allowing her to get a better grip on the child.

She sighed and adjusted her grip on the child. The scepter levitated in front of her following her as she walked down the stairs.

"Dorothy!" Annabella said.

"Yes Annabella?" Dorothy asked.

"Who jester?" Annabella asked curiously as a child would.

"He's a bad man, well, more like a very wicked man." Dorothy said.

"What wicked?" She asked again.

"Dear, I'm expanding your vocabulary aren't I? Well, how can I describe wicked to you?" Dorothy asked stopping in the middle of the stairs.

"Why not use me as the description?" Alex asked from the top of the stairs.

Dorothy looked back and saw Alex standing there, looking as if he was about to cry.

"Alex, is something wrong?" Dorothy asked.

"My sister likes you better than she likes me, no there's absolutely nothing wrong." He said sarcastically.

"Alex, your sister does not like me better than you, I'm just a friend, you're her brother, it's your responsibility to take care of her, guide her along the way, I've always been an only child, but you are lucky, and so is Donna, you have someone to look up to you." Dorothy said sitting down on the steps.

"Alecks?" Annabella said pointing to her older brother.

"See? She's trying to say your name." Dorothy said chuckling and then signaling to Alex to come down.

He looked at her and sighed, almost as if in defeat and walked down the stairs, taking a seat next to Dorothy. Dorothy giggled a bit and handed Annabella over to Alex.

"Alecks!" Annabella said pointing to him.

"Close enough." Alex said taking his sister in his arms, she kissed him on the cheek making Dorothy giggle.

"See? She loves you." Dorothy said giggling.

"Thanks Dorothy, um what's with that thing? It's just, floating there." Alex asked referring to it.

Dorothy looked at the scepter, she then plucked it from the air in front of her and tightened her grasp on it.

"Remind me to explain later." Dorothy said.

"Right, anyways, the guest rooms are set up there up the stairs second and third doors on your left, its right across from my room and the bathroom." Alex said carefully getting up and carrying his sister down the stairs.

"Thanks." Dorothy said getting up and following him.

When they got to the living room Dorothy got an odd sinking feeling, something she couldn't explain. The scepter went dim and Dorothy felt something surge through her body.

"Dorothy? Are you okay?" Mrs. Teak asked sounding concerned.

Dorothy didn't respond, she collapsed to the floor and blacked out. She then found herself in the middle of a nightmare. The jester was laughing louder and more wickedly than he usually did. Surrounding her were once more her friends and family being tortured in various means, none extremely harmful but torture none the less, she wanted to scream, but she found that she couldn't. She then felt someone one embracing her.

"Dorothy, it's alright child, it's just a dream." She heard the voice of Glinda saying.

Dorothy's eyes snapped open, she immediately sat up and found herself drenched in sweat. She then found herself being embraced tightly by Glinda. She cried for a bit before realizing that Alex was in the room holding his little sister, smiling smugly.

"Dorothy okay?" Came the voice of Annabella.

"No, I don't think so Annabella, I think she's really upset by something, and to be quite honest, I think it's funny." Alex said chuckling.

"Alex, please shut up." Glinda said sternly.

Alex looked at Glinda and shut his mouth, he then walked over with Annabella in his arms. Dorothy looked around to see that she was now in a bed, the scepter floating a few inches away from where her head had evidently had been resting. She felt scared, but at the same time she still had that sinking feeling as if something was wrong. She the felt Glinda pushing her out of the embrace and looking at her with a sad look in her eyes.

"Dorothy, I know you don't want to talk about it but I want you to tell me what you saw." Glinda said sternly.

Dorothy went on to explain that she had seen the usual nightmare, as to not disclose any information to Alex, she didn't want him to know her weaknesses, and that was the jester's job to know. She then gasped as the clock struck seven.

"Oh sweet Oz, I'm going to be late for school, Glinda why didn't you guys wake me sooner!? Dorothy said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Dorothy, we don't have school today, we may not for a while, it was broken into in the middle of the night." Alex said, as his tone went from amused to even more excited.

"Do they know who did it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"They do not, but I suspect the jester." Glinda said

"Why would he do something like that?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I don't know." Glinda said getting up, "We'll be leaving after breakfast by the way." She added and walked out of the room.

Dorothy sighed and lay back down on the bed she was in. she stared up and the ceiling and closed her eyes, only to open them moments later to find Annabella now lying on top of her. Her own blue eyes meeting with the green ones of the child. She giggled and sat up. Looking over to where Alex was. He was once again smiling a smug smile.

"Dorothy better now?" Annabella asked.

"Yes Annabella, I'm feeling better now." Dorothy said taking Annabella into her arms.

"Good for you, now could we cut the theatrics?" Alex asked almost gagging.

"Alex, would it kill you to be nice in front of your sister?" Dorothy asked setting Annabella down on the blankets and getting out of the bed.

"No, I just, find it amusing." He said slowly chuckling.

Dorothy picked up Annabella off the bed and sighed.

"Just wait till you learn to walk, then you can give your brother running hugs." Dorothy said giggling.

"Hey don't give her any ideas, I don't want to be tackled by a one year old when she does manage to figure it out." Alex said chuckling.

"Alecks tackeleded?" Annabella asked making them both laugh.

"Trust me Alex, you'll do great with helping her grow up." Dorothy said walking over and handing her off to him, "But if you don't mind, I want to change back into my dress." She added.

"Sure thing, I'll uh, just tell Glinda that you'll be down in a minute or so." Alex said walking out of the room shutting the door behind.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to the foot of the bed and grabbed her dress and shirt. After a few minutes she emerged from the room with her nightgown folded up under her arm and the scepter. In her free hand. The only thing she wasn't able to find were her flats, they weren't in the room with her so she went down stairs to ask if anyone had seen them. When she got to the bottom of the steps she found Alex standing there, holding her flats. Dorothy walked over and took them. She looked at Alex with a slightly annoyed face. She dropped them on the floor and slid them on, she then walked into the living and saw Glinda, holding a stuffed bear in Annabella's face pretending to make it talk. Annabella sat there just not looking amused at all. Dorothy smiled and walked over, setting her nightgown down on the coffee table she walked over to Glinda and plucked the bear out of her hand.

"Trying to keep her amused?" Dorothy asked giggling.

"Yes, it worked on Ellie when she was a baby, but it's not working on this one." Glinda said sounding frustrated.

"Smart kid, Annabella, do you just want to play with the teddy bear?" Dorothy asked placing it in the playpen.

Annabella picked it up and hugged it tightly. Dorothy giggled and looked at Glinda who was looking at her strangely.

"You do realize now her and that bear will probably be inseparable until she's maybe five or six year's old right?" Glinda asked worriedly.

"Yes, I used to be the same way Glinda, except with a patchwork quilt my mother made for me." Dorothy said sitting down on the floor.

Glinda chuckled and reached over to Dorothy, pulling the scepter out of her grasp. She then took the green orb off the top and rubbed it against her own dress until it sparkled. She then replaced the orb and handed the scepter back to Dorothy.

"There, now it looked more appealing to have around, oh and Dorothy, I have to be heading to the school, they want me to insist with the investigation before I return home, but Ellie, Aislynn and Toto should be showing up at the door right about…Now!" Glinda said as a knock came from the door.

"I'll get it!" Alex said, they then heard the door opening and heard Alex shout "AGH!" then a loud thud on the ground.

Dorothy and Glinda both got up and ran into the hallway, they found Alex on the ground his hands up to a now bloody nose and Ellie standing there looking triumphant. Mr. and Mrs. Teak then ran into the room and gasped.

"Ellie what in heaven's name did you do that for!?" Dorothy asked kneeling down on the floor the help Alex up.

"I don't like him, so I figured that would be fitting, oh dear, he's bleeding." She said as her tone switched from triumphant to concern.

"Yea we noticed, and just wait till I tell father about this." Glinda said looking at her little sister with an angry face.

"Ellie you need to apologize I think." Aislynn said looking at the scene.

Toto who had been somewhat oblivious to the happenings merely walked up to his mistress and barked. Glinda produced a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to Alex who took it and pressed it against his nose.

"Actually I'm pretty sure, I deserved that." He said as he grunted and got to his feet.

"I wouldn't say that, Alex you never hit anyone just teased, and hit me with paper darts, but that's about it." Dorothy said.

"Thanks, but if she hates me enough to do that, then I deserved it, wait a minute where's that lady that was here?" Alex said looking around the room and then pressing the handkerchief against his nose again.

"I think she left through the back door, I saw her go to the kitchen." Mrs. Teak said sighing.

"Yea, my sister doesn't like to make too much of a fuss about things, but anyways, come on Dorothy let's get back to the farmhouse, it's a long walk." Ellie said.

"Thanks Ellie, well Alex, hope your nose feels better." Dorothy said tightening her grip on the scepter.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

Dorothy smiled and sighed she then remembered her nightgown.

"Mrs. Teak could you grab my nightgown from the living room?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure thing." Mrs. Teak said running into the living room quickly and emerging with it a few seconds later she then walked over to Dorothy and handed it to her sighing.

"Is something wrong?" Dorothy asked.

"I wish you could stay longer, Annabella hasn't been any trouble with you here, and you seem to have a knack with children don't you?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to the living room. She smiled and walked over to Annabella.

"Goodbye Annabella, I hope I get to see you again soon." Dorothy said looking down at the child.

Annabella looked at Dorothy and frowned.

"You not stay?" Annabella asked.

"I'm sorry, but you I have to return home." Dorothy said thinking about it for a minute.

"See you soon?" Annabella asked.

"I hope so." Dorothy said bending over and kissing Annabella on the forehead.

Dorothy then sighed and walked back to front door.

"That's was cute Dorothy, do you think you could babysit for us at some point?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"You'd have to ask my aunt and uncle, really I'm in no authority at the moment." Dorothy said sighing.

"Fair enough, are you guys still opening your cornfields for the harvest tomorrow?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Yep, well I guess I should stop stalling, Auntie Em and uncle henry will probably get mad if were not home soon." Dorothy said handing off her night gown to Ellie and then walking out, scepter in hand.

"See you tomorrow!" Mrs. Teak said shouted as Dorothy and her friends walked away, Toto barking at their heels.

"Odd isn't it, all this time I thought Alex was just a plain old rotten person, but the fact that he didn't even try to fight back." Ellie said, her voice trailing off.

"I know Ellie, and of all the things I've ever thought, and of all the things I've believe impossible, I think, I sincerely think, that I can change him, for the better, for everyone's sake." Dorothy said smiling.

"Do you really think you could?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I think so, yes, yes I could." Dorothy said looking over to her friend.

"Suit yourself, but if you get hurt in the process don't blame me." Ellie said.

"Don't worry, I won't." Dorothy said chuckling.

Toto barked a few times as if agreeing with his mistress. Dorothy looked down at him and giggled, she knew if Toto approved then she could do it. And she knew she could do it, no doubt about it.

"I can't wait for the harvest tomorrow." Ellie said changing the subject.

"I know, me neither, I just love the harvest." Dorothy said giggling.

**So why have I given Dorothy this unexpected goal to change Alex for the better? More importantly, how is she going to cope with being turned into a cat in the next chapter? Some questions should be answered in the next installment of the story. And a question that im sure will come to your mind, is why am I expanding a nearly one year old child character's Vocabulary, well im basing her off my little sister when she was that age, she ended up with a very big vocabulary before she was one years old because of me, my brother and sister.**


	28. First Harvest

**Disclaimer, well you know.**

Friday had been pretty uneventful regardless of what had happened that morning. Dorothy spent her day helping her aunt and uncle with extra chores around the house given that she now, yet extremely unexpectedly came into a large amount of free time. Glinda had returned to the farmhouse later that day to announce that she was sure the jester was responsible for the break in and was returning to Oz. as soon as she departed Dorothy, Ellie and Aislynn spent some time getting things ready for the harvest the next day. Aislynn was still a little nervous about having so many people around the farmhouse and in the back of her mind hoped that Mrs. Gale would allow her to stay inside the farmhouse. Today however was now Saturday. Dorothy had woken up bright and early, before anyone else, and changed out of her nightgown and into an orange shirt, and her usual jean dress. She then pulled on her boots and grabbed the scepter. Then walking out of her room she rummaged through her pockets and eventually found her hair ribbon. She then tied her hair into pigtails and sighed.

"Well, this should be a great day." Dorothy whispered to herself walking into the living and sitting down on the couch.

She sighed and leaned back stretching. She soon heard the sounds of everyone else in the house waking up. Aislynn was the first one out in the living room. She was still in her nightgown, Toto followed close behind.

"Morning Dorothy." she said.

"Morning ace, is something wrong?" Dorothy asked sitting up.

"No, nothing's wrong." Aislynn said trying not to make eye contact.

"Aislynn, you know that if you have any problems, then you can confide them in me, Ellie, and my aunt and uncle, come, sit, and please tell me what's wrong." Dorothy said.

Aislynn sighed in defeat and walked over to the couch. Toto ran over and jumped into Dorothy's lap, he then proceeded to stand up on his hind legs and quickly licked Dorothy on the cheek, in turn making her giggle.

"Dorothy, you know that I'm pretty shy right?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes." Dorothy said looking at Aislynn curiously.

"Yes, well, with the harvest today, I'm frightened of there being a bunch of people here at the farmhouse." Aislynn said.

"Oh, I see, well, Aislynn don't worry, the people in this town are really nice people, and they all know me and my aunt and uncle, so you have nothing to fear." Dorothy said placing a hand on aislynn's shoulder.

"I knew you might say that, but I hope your aunt will let me stay in my room with my books instead of helping with it, I still don't feel comfortable in large crowds." Aislynn said pushing the hand away.

"Ace, I'm not sure about that, we all want you to be a bit more social outside of the farmhouse and school, anyways, why don't I have Auntie Em call your maids, maybe they can come down here and accompany you around the fields." Dorothy said smiling.

"I think that would be nice." Aislynn said as Dorothy's aunt walking into the room, she was already changed into her work clothes, she was followed by Ellie who was still in her nightgown just like Aislynn was.

"I heard my name mentioned, is something wrong?" Em asked curiously.

"No auntie Em, but would you mind calling up Aislynn's maids and see if they want to come and help keep ace company in the fields? She's a bit nervous about having so many people around the farmhouse today." Dorothy said looking over to her aunt.

"I'll call them after breakfast, I don't think they'll be awake yet." Em said looking out the window at the rising sun.

"I think that's fair enough." Dorothy said getting up.

"I agree, Aislynn, please go and change." Em said as Ellie walked over and led Aislynn back to their room.

Dorothy sighed as did her aunt who now walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Dorothy's uncle came into the room moments later, fixing on a pair of suspenders. He then looked at Dorothy and smiled.

"One of your most favorite times of year." Henry said chuckling.

"The first harvest, yes, it is indeed one of my favorites." Dorothy said smiling.

Toto barked a few times then jumped off of Dorothy's lap and ran towards the bedrooms. Dorothy smiled and got up, she tightened her grip on the scepter, and then walked over to the window. She watched the sun rise create a reddish purple tinge on the horizon of the fields. The rows of corn looked beautiful in the rising sun. She sighed and leaned against the window pane.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Ellie asked suddenly, making Dorothy jump.

"Ellie, warn me when you're coming into the room." Dorothy said catching her breath and turning to look at Ellie.

Ellie was now wearing an outfit similar to that of the one her aunt was wearing. Blue jeans, a white work shirt and a jean jacket. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail once more. She was also wearing light brown work boots. She looked at Dorothy and smiled.

"If I did that where would be the fun in being one of your best friends?" she asked walking over and giggling.

"Oh, don't tease like that, but anyways, yes it is beautiful, will Aislynn be ready soon?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She'll be out in a minute." Ellie said walking towards the kitchen

Dorothy sighed and turned back to the window. She then heard the sound of Toto walking back into the room followed by Aislynn. She then turned around and saw Aislynn. Now wearing an outfit similar to her own except she was wearing a bright red shirt underneath the dress.

"You look beautiful Ace, why don't you go to the kitchen with Ellie, I think she's helping my aunt or something." Dorothy said walking over to her.

Aislynn smiled and ran to the kitchen, Dorothy then knelt down and started petting Toto for a bit.

"Toto, I don't get how you can always stay so calm." Dorothy said smiling.

Toto barked and sat up. Dorothy chuckled at this and went to join everyone else in the kitchen. As she got closer she could smell sausages cooking. She inhaled and sighed. Toto then ran over and joined her in her walk to the kitchen. As she walked in she saw Aislynn and Ellie sitting at the kitchen table. She loosened her grip on the scepter a bit and sighed again. She walked over and joined them.

"So, Auntie Em what's for breakfast today?" Dorothy asked.

"Scrambled eggs and sausages." Em said.

Dorothy's uncle then walked over to them and set out plates and silver ware for them.

"You guys can serve your selves once Em is done cooking, she and I have to go to Mrs. Kepelsen's to help her and her husband get their orchard ready." Henry said smiling.

"Say hi to Mrs. Kepelsen for me." Dorothy said smiling.

"Don't worry we will." Em said putting some more sausages in the pan.

"And don't forget to call Aislynn's maids." Ellie reminded.

"I'll do that as soon as we're done at Mrs. Kepelsen's, by then they should be awake." Em said chuckling.

"Thanks Mrs. Gale." Aislynn said now slouching in her chair.

Dorothy smiled at this, she couldn't wait for the harvest to begin.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout._

The jester was happily doing cartwheels and flips around the crystal ball. Soon he dismounted and laughed wickedly.

"Soon Dorothy gale, your punishment shall begin, with a transformation spell that only I can break!" he said to himself cackling wickedly.

A flying monkey flew into the room carrying a small card, he handed it to the jester and walked off. He examined it closely, he then realized it was another business card type item. He read it aloud.

"Basil would like to inform you that all of us are hungry and would like something to eat!? Where did you guys even learn how to make these things…? I think I just had a Déjà vu." He said now a bit confused.

He snarled and took out the wand, he flicked it and found himself instantly in the quarters of the flying monkeys.

"I'm not even going to ask where or how you guys learned how to make these, but while I'm gone help yourselves to the stuff in the kitchens, just leave some stuff left over for me to eat, is that clear?" He asked the monkeys.

They all nodded and saluted, the jester then flicked the wand again and found himself back in the chambers with the crystal ball. He waved the wand over it and it switched to the image Glinda who was trying to keep her spell from unbinding as well as having an argument with the scarecrow.

"_Glinda, as ruler of Oz I forbid you to use that spell, no matter what!" he said sternly._

"_Forgive me your majesty, but that spell is only to be used if Oz is in grave danger, and if his spell spreads closer to the emerald city and breaks away from the borders of munchkin land then I will have no choice but to cast it." Glinda said referring to the Grimmerie._

"_Glinda, you know what it will do to you, you've seen its effect on the user, remember your Aunt?" Scarecrow asked curiously._

"_Yes I do, and she gave her life to protect this land by using the spell three times, the last time she knew full well would kill her, I have never used it once." Glinda said starting to get frustrated._

"So Glinda, that's how you became successor of the north then? Well, well, well we do have a bit of a history then don't we? The never ending battle to keep Oz safe." The jester said chuckling.

"_Glinda for the last time, I forbid you to use that spell, you told me that your aunt was never the same after she used the spell just once." Scarecrow said sternly._

"_Scarecrow, your majesty, if it all comes down to it, I have my orders from you, to keep this land protected in any way possible, and you yourself said those orders are not to be countermanded not even by you." Glinda said sighing_

The scarecrow looked at her and hung his head in defeat, those had been his exact orders, though never did he think anything would ever get this far.

"_Fine, do what you must, but you may only preform the spell once, and only if you have to." Scarecrow said sighing in defeat and walking out of the room._

"Well then Glinda, it looks like the game will soon begin, but you need not cast that spell yet, heck you don't even need to keep the spell from spreading, I control it, therefore it won't spread outside of munchkin land's borders unless I command it to be so." He said chuckling and waving the wand over the crystal again.

The crystal switched back to the image of Dorothy gale, who was now enjoying her breakfast with her friends. The jester looked at the girl and smiled, he then flicked the wand and the crystal went dark.

"Now, I should head off to Kansas." He said to himself laughing wickedly.

_Meanwhile back in Kansas at the Gale residence._

Dorothy, Ellie and Aislynn had just finished their breakfast and Dorothy had begun washing the dishes and cookware. She did this as a first chore, she hadn't been told to but her aunt and uncle would be busy for the rest of the day and she didn't want to put this on their plate as well.

"Dorothy, Ellie and I are going to go play with Toto outside." Aislynn said.

"Okay, have fun." Dorothy said placing the plates back in the cabinet.

She soon heard the sound of the back door opening and then closing again, she sighed and began washing the frying pan her aunt had used. Dorothy sighed, it wasn't long before she finished the chore and had put everything away. She then picked up the scepter and walked out the back door. It was a bit chilly out this morning, but it wasn't unusual for the first harvest to be on a chilly Saturday like this one. She looked out at the field and saw Ellie and Aislynn taking turns throwing a ball for Toto to fetch and bring back. She giggled and walked back into the house, she then sat down at the kitchen table and waited for her aunt and uncle to return. After a few minutes of waiting Aislynn and Ellie came back into the house followed by Toto and Dorothy's aunt and uncle. Auntie Em looked surprised to see that everything was already cleaned up, yet at the same time she was relieved.

"Well, people will start arriving soon, I'll go call up aislynn's maids to see if they want to come and keep ace company" Em said walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"Well Dorothy, we had some fun playing with Toto I wish you had joined us." Ellie said sighing.

"Ellie I was doing a chore, not that I had to, but for the sheer unadulterated heck of it." Dorothy said getting up and walking over to them.

"Well, I'm heading out to the barn, got to make sure everything is ready." Henry said walking out again.

Dorothy smiled and looked at Ellie and Aislynn, she then knelt down and picked up Toto. She was about to say something when they all heard a knock on the front door. Dorothy ran over to the kitchen door and opened it. Standing in the door way she listened as her aunt opened the door.

"Oh, hello Mr. and Mrs. Teak, Good morning, please do come in, I see you've brought your little one with you." Em said.

Dorothy walked into the living room and set Toto down on the floor. She walked over to them.

"Ah Dorothy, good morning, how was your day yesterday?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Good morning Mrs. Teak, and my day yesterday was fine, thank you for asking, is Alex not with you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He's outside waiting on the porch, he said he didn't want to come in the house at all." Mrs. Teak said sighing.

Dorothy smiled and looked down at Annabella, she was asleep in her little carrier.

"How has she been?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She's been well, she's been asking when she would get to see you again, and it was really cute to be honest, hopefully she'll start walking soon." Mrs. Teak said in a hopeful tone.

"At any rate we hope she's not going to be like Alex, he didn't walk for the first time till he was three, and when I say walk, I mean run." Mr. Teak said chuckling.

It was then that Annabella's eyes slowly opened. She looked around and spotted Dorothy. She giggled and tried to climb out of her carrier.

"Dorothy!" she said in her usual way.

Dorothy giggled and picked up Annabella. Annabella wrapped her arms around Dorothy's neck and hugged her tightly.

"She really loves you doesn't she?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Yes she does, has she tried walking at all?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"A few times, yes, the first two times she managed to get one step forward before falling flat on her behind and she's gradually improving, she made it the three steps yesterday after you left, I think she wanted to go with you." Mrs. Teak said chuckling.

"Well, it's a start, it could be worse, she could just spend her entire time sitting there doing nothing but waiting for someone to come and pick her up to bring her to somewhere else." Dorothy said smiling as Annabella playfully tugged at one of Dorothy's pigtails.

"That's how Alex was, and that's what were worried about, that she'll end up giving up till she thinks it's the right moment, you see Alex's first actual steps were like I said a running sprint." Mr. Teak said chuckling again.

"Well why not give her motivation, like, um…. Yea I'm lost, auntie Em what would you use as motivation for a little kid?" Dorothy asked curiously as both her head and Annabella's turned to her aunt.

"Well, personally since henry and I never had kids of our own, and you were already a fairly developed child when you came to live with us, id personally recommend bribes, like, well according to henry your grandparents would bribe your father with a cookie so that he would walk towards them." Em said chuckling.

"Well I guess that's more of an incentive, but I guess it could work, anyways, who doesn't love cookies?" Dorothy asked.

"People who don't like items of food with sugar in them?" Came the voice of Ellie from the kitchen door.

"Fair enough, thanks Ellie." Dorothy said sarcastically.

"Who that?" Annabella asked curiously.

"That's Ellie, she's one of my friends, she's one of the nicest girls I know." Dorothy said giggling.

"Oh." Annabella said still not quite understanding.

"Come on, let's go outside and talk to your brother." Dorothy said walking past Mr. and Mrs. Teak and walking out of the house still carrying Annabella and the scepter.

When she got outside she found Alex sitting on the steps. She walked over and sat down next to him. Setting the scepter out of his reach, she looked at him.

"How's your nose?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Still a bit sore, but its better thanks, I see my sister has her playmate back." Alex said chuckling.

Dorothy smiled and sat Annabella down on her lap, Annabella giggled and tried to climb off of Dorothy's lap and take a seat between them. Dorothy giggled and moved over allowing Annabella to take a seat between them.

"Alecks, you happy?" Annabella asked curiously.

Dorothy looked at Alex and gave him a look that made him go pale briefly. When he finally gained his senses back he looked down at his sister and smiled.

"Not really sis, I'm just a bit frustrated." He said.

"What that mean?" Annabella asked.

"It means, um a dissatisfied feeling, or just being a bit ticked off, or upset." Dorothy said so that Alex wouldn't have to explain it.

"Oh." Annabella said once again.

"Right, anyways, why did you guys come here?" Dorothy asked looking up from Annabella.

"My parents wanted to talk to your aunt and uncle personally to ask if you would be available as a baby sitter for Annabella after your punishment is over." Alex said smiling.

"How'd you learn about me being punished?" Dorothy asked.

"Donna, she also told me about your made up fairy land called Oz, do you really expect me to believe in that place?" Alex asked curiously.

"No I don't, if you do however good for you." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter and getting up.

"Thanks dear, love you too." He said sarcastically.

"Alecks love Dorothy?" Annabella asked curiously.

"No Annabella, your brother was being sarcastic, meaning he was making a joke." Dorothy said.

"Oh, so more than one love?" Annabella asked.

"I guess." Dorothy said thinking about it then walking up the steps.

"Dorothy where are you going?" Alex asked.

"Inside, why don't you follow?" Dorothy asked curiously

Alex sighed and walked up the steps. He followed Dorothy into the farmhouse. When they got inside Dorothy lead him over to the couches in the living room where Mr. and Mrs. Teak were talking to her aunt as well as Ellie and Aislynn.

"Alex, how nice of you to finally join us." Mr. Teak said chuckling.

"Oh don't scold me." Alex said chuckling and setting Annabella on the floor.

Annabella giggled and pushed herself up to her feet, she carefully took a step forward, then another, then another, and another, and one more. She then fell backwards and landed on her behind.

"Oof." She said making everyone laugh.

"Well it's an improvement." Mr. Teak said.

"Maybe we can have her walking by next week." Mrs. Teak said chuckling.

"Why can't we just let her wait, you know, like you say I did?" Alex asked curiously.

"Because, we don't want to wait three more years." Mrs. Teak said sternly.

"Why not?" Alex asked curiously.

Mr. and Mrs. Teak glared at Alex, Toto then walked over to Annabella and barked.

"Who this?" Annabella asked in her usual way.

"That's Toto, he's my dog." Dorothy said walking over to Annabella.

"Toto?" Annabella asked looking at the dog.

Toto barked and licked Annabella on her face.

"Awe, ick!" she said making everyone laugh.

"Awe he likes you." Dorothy said kneeling down to Annabella.

"I'll go get a washcloth, anyways, Dorothy, you should get ready, make sure you don't have anything on you that you don't want to lose in those fields." Auntie Em said smiling then getting up and walking to the kitchen.

Dorothy smiled and walked to her bed room. She emptied the contents of her pockets onto the dresser, these items were, her keys, her little pocket compendium, and a small variety of other things. When she had done this she walked back into the living room to find Auntie Em wiping Annabella's face with a wash cloth. She was spitting and sputtering against the washcloth making Dorothy giggle. Dorothy walked over, she was about to say something when her uncle came into the room.

"The Alistair's are here, as is Mr. Pryce with his wife." Henry said smiling.

Dorothy smiled and looked at Ellie and Aislynn. They got up and followed her as she walked out of the house to greet them. As she got outside she was embraced by Donna.

"How's the punishment going?" Donna asked curiously.

"It's boring." Dorothy said as they walked towards the fields.

They then met up with Mr. Pryce and his wife who were engaging in conversation with the Alistair, Mr. Pryce looked a bit pale and shaky, he looked over and saw Dorothy, he smiled weakly and everyone looked over to her.

"Ah Dorothy, how are you?" Mr. Pryce asked nervously.

"I'm good, you seem a bit jittery though." Dorothy said.

"He's been like that since Monday, he was doing well until the school got broken into, and at the moment I think he's a nervous wreck." Mrs. Pryce said worriedly.

"Oh, I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Dorothy gale." Dorothy said curtsying.

"Nice to meet you Dorothy, but I know who you are, when he returned to find me still waiting for him, he told me all about you I'm Alana Pryce." She said offering Dorothy a hand.

Dorothy took the hand and shook it. She then realized that they were carrying a basket.

"Well the fields are over there, help yourselves, if you need some help, my aunt and uncle should be out in a minute." Dorothy said.

"Thanks, come on hubby." Mrs. Pryce said leading her husband to her fields.

Dorothy smiled and walked into the fields after everyone. It didn't take long but she soon found herself in the middle of the field. Mr. Pryce was there leaning against the old scarecrow pole. Dorothy walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" Dorothy asked curiously

"Just nervous, that's all." He said shuddering.

Dorothy was about to say something when Alex, Ellie, and Aislynn ran into the center.

"Dorothy, your aunt and uncle are looking for you." Alex said.

"Did they say why?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"They wanted to know if you were helping people or if you just ran off again." Ellie said.

Dorothy smiled and was about to say something when they all heard a loud booming voice of the jester. Alex, Ellie, and Aislynn all jumped at hearing this and ran over to Dorothy.

"Well, well, well Dorothy gale, are we enjoying our punishment?" the voice asked teasingly.

"I'm not sure I can take much more of this." Mr. Pryce said as Mr. Alistair, Donna, and Mrs. Pryce ran into the center of the field.

Dorothy tightened her grip on the scepter, she signaled for all of her friends to stay back. She then took a step forward. There was a crash of thunder and the jester appeared before them. The scepter glowed for a bit and then went dark.

"What do you want!?" Dorothy shouted.

"Oi, don't shout, I don't want any harm, I just want to help you, or add to your punishment." He said smiling slyly.

He then flicked the wand and they were surrounded by a semi-transparent dome. Dorothy waved the scepter hoping to counter it, but nothing happened, the scepter didn't even glow. Glinda appeared and looked at the jester angrily, she waved her own wand to try and counteract the dome but it didn't work either. Her face went to an expressionless look, but at the same time it was one of confusion.

"Dorothy, I have a question for you, do you like cats?" the jester asked curiously.

"What?" Dorothy asked sounding confused.

"Do you like cats?" The jester asked again.

"Well, I think they're cute, yes, but no one can replace Toto." Dorothy said.

"Good, because…" he said trailing off teasingly.

"What?" Dorothy asked as she saw her aunt and uncle run into the field behind the jester and run into the dome.

"**Though not to add any detriment, add this spell as your punishment, because now you're in trouble, you can't doubt that, but now safely, you shall become a Cat!" **the jester said bringing the wand down sending a ball of light at Dorothy.

The ball hit Dorothy in the stomach, she doubled over, not in pain but in astonishment. She began to feel dizzy and nauseas. She felt an odd sensation, it felt odd, but it didn't feel like anything at the same time. She looked down to her hands and realized they were now the paws of a kitten. She looked up at the jester. He looked gigantic, for a moment she didn't feel anything, and then all sensations stop.

"Oh how cute, you do make quite a cute kitten if I do say so myself." He said chuckling.

"Why?" Dorothy asked, she then gasped "wait a minute, why can I talk?" she asked surprised.

"Yes, the spell I used turned you into a cat, oh wait a minute, let me allow your friends to hear this as well since they just witnessed it." The jester said flicking the wand again.

The dome disappeared and Glinda shot a spell at the jester, he ducked out of the way and chuckled.

"Oh don't worry, she's quite alright, and she can talk." The jester said smiling.

"Why would you allow me to talk though?" Dorothy asked.

"Does anyone have a bucket?" Mr. Pryce asked, now looking a bit green.

"I did this so you could know what it's like to be like a poor helpless animal, you will stay like this till I say you've suffered enough, you won't be able to leave your farmhouse outside of a box I assume." He said chuckling.

"Oi Bozo, change her back!" Alex said angrily.

"Oh you again, shut up or I'll fix you as well!" he shouted.

"Don't worry, I'll reverse the spell." Glinda said, though she didn't sound like she was being honest.

"Oh Glinda, sweet, sweet Glinda, you know that's not possible, the spell I used to transform her can only be lifted by me, anyways, you and I both know you never deal in transformations." The jester said chuckling.

"So she's stuck like this till you say!?" Alex asked angrily.

"Yes, and with that, I bid you all farewell." He said vanishing.

Dorothy sat up, or at least she tried to. This was going to take some getting used to and she knew it.

"Well, how do I look?" Dorothy asked nervously.

"A bit like a calico, but with a hint of blue." Henry said walking up to his niece and picking her up.

"Thanks uncle henry, but could you please put me down?" Dorothy asked now noticing that her voice was a few pitches higher.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Alex from behind.

"Yes Alex?" Dorothy asked curiously as her uncle set her on the ground.

"What's it like?" he asked curiously.

"Alex!" Donna said sternly.

"What? It's a fair questions." Alex said drawing back.

"Donna, please, Alex, it's a bit strange, but I'm sure I can get used to it in time." Dorothy said looking around at her friends.

"Glinda, is there something you can do?" Ellie asked curiously.

"No, no there isn't my dear sister, the jester is right, the spell he used is an old one, but it's true that it can only be lifted by the jester himself, so from here on till he changes his mind Dorothy will remain a cat." Glinda said sadly.

"You mean, we have to deal with raising a cat?" Em asked pinching her arm to and closing her eyes.

Just then Mr. and Mrs. Teak ran into the field, Mrs. Teak was carrying Annabella in her arms.

"Where's Dorothy?" Mrs. Teak asked having heard the thunder.

"She's um." Henry said looking away from the cat.

Mrs. Teak sighed and placed down Annabella, she pushed herself up and Dorothy walked over to her. At least SHE had walking down, she would have to get used to having paws though. Annabella took some steps towards Dorothy and giggled.

"Dorothy?" Annabella asked pointing to the cat.

"Annabella, don't be silly, that's not Dorothy." Mrs. Teak said chuckling.

"Auntie Madison, I think there are something's that Kelly, Uncle Alex and I have to explain to you." Donna said sighing.

"Like what?" Mr. and Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Like the fact that Dorothy really is the cat." Glinda said sadly.

Annabella placed a hand on Dorothy's head and carefully pet her. Dorothy felt calm like this, and somehow, she began to purr.

"Ha-ha, that's rich, good one guys." Alex said trying to sound and convincing as possible though he did find this completely hilarious.

"I know Alex, anyways, wait a minute isn't that Dorothy's?" Mr. Teak asked referring to the scepter.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure Dorothy accidentally left it here when she was helping someone, come on, let's go back to the farmhouse, I'll make us some cider." Em said leading the teaks out of the cornfield.

Ellie walked over to the scepter and picked it up. Alex came over and picked up Annabella. Donna led her uncle back towards the farmhouse carrying a basket of corn. Mrs. Pryce took her husband's arm and draped it over her shoulder. She supported him and led him out of the field after Donna.

"You know Dorothy, you do make a cute cat." Alex said.

"Thanks." Dorothy said as Annabella looked down at her and giggled.

"Glinda, the scepter, it's like all the power has left it." Ellie said worriedly.

"I know, it will remain like that until Dorothy becomes human again." Glinda said sadly.

"That means, no protection from his wrath." Ellie stated.

"Not exactly, he didn't intend to harm Dorothy, if he had, then my spell would have broken the dome, but it did not, so he knew what he was doing." Glinda said sadly.

"Oh, well then, come on ace." Ellie said walking over to Aislynn and taking her hand.

"Dorothy, Jessica and Jenny wanted to see you, but now, well I'm not sure that's a good idea." Aislynn said.

Dorothy nodded and followed everyone else out of the cornfield. When they reached the farmhouse Aislynn picked Dorothy up and carried her the rest of the way until they were inside the farmhouse. Alex set Annabella on the floor. Aislynn did the same with Dorothy. Dorothy looked around the room, she saw everyone who had been in the cornfield with her now sitting in the living room in the couches and armchairs. Jessica and jenny were standing, for some strange reason dusting everything in sight. Dorothy knew that she should try to avoid talking for as long as possible. The door then opened again and Officer Grey came in,

"Whose cat is this?" he asked leaning over and scratching Dorothy behind the ears.

With that word, "Cat." Toto ran into the room barking. He caught sight of Dorothy and barked extremely loudly and growled. Dorothy jumped and ran. Toto barked and ran after her.

"Toto NO! Stop, it's me Dorothy!" Dorothy shouted jumping up onto the dining room table.

Toto stopped and looked at Dorothy tilting his head to the side confused. She looked at the living room, everyone was looking at her wide eyed. Mr. Pryce had now fainted completely. Mr. and Mrs. Teak were looking at her wide-eyed. They had dropped the cups they were holding and they shattered on the floor. Jenny and Jessica, now broken from the amazement instinctively ran over to clean it up.

"Toto, it's me Dorothy, the jester turned me into a cat, that's why I look like this." Dorothy said.

Toto looked at her and whimpered. She jumped off the table and he sniffed her for a bit. He barked happily and licked Dorothy. Then stuck his tongue out in disgust having just licked a cat on the face.

"S-s-so y-y-you w-w-were t-telling the t-t-truth?" Mrs. Teak finally stuttered out.

"Sadly yes." Glinda said sighing.

Mrs. Teak slumped back in the chair and fainted. Mr. Teak was fanning his wife trying to revive her.

"I think we need a bit of a vacation, Alexander, would you mind watching Annabella and Alex for a week or two since you have no side projects and the school is closed?" Mr. Teak asked curiously.

"Sorry, but because of Donna's parents being away buying things in bulk I would only be able to take one of them." Mr. Alistair said sadly.

"Well when will Donna's parents be back?" Mr. Teak asked curiously.

"Maybe a month this time, they're heading off to the state line for lord knows what." Mr. Alistair said wiping his brow.

"We could watch them." Jessica offered.

"And who are you?" Mr. Teak asked curiously.

"Mr. and Mrs. Teak, this is Jessica, the other girl is Jenny, they are Aislynn's maids." Dorothy said walking over.

"Gosh I am not going to get used to that." Mr. Teak said.

"We'd be happy to have them since ace tends to stay here more often than her own house." Jenny said as Mrs. Teak began to come too.

"Can we trust them?" Mrs. Teak asked, somehow being aware of the conversation.

"Me, I'd trust them with my life if it all came down to it." Dorothy said.

"I know, I just had an idea, how about if Aislynn, Dorothy and Ellie come with us to help watch them?" Jenny asked curiously.

"That's not a bad Idea but remember jenny dear, Dorothy is supposed to be getting punished remember?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Her punishment was that she wasn't allowed to leave the house for anything but school, but because school is no longer part of the equation I don't think it matters at this point, don't you agree Emily?" Mr. Alistair asked Dorothy's aunt.

"Why do you refer to my aunt by her full name?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"It's called being serious dear, Henry and I grew up with the Alistair's, as did, well I can't say it without upsetting you." Em said, "And Mr. Alistair has a good point henry, she can't really go anywhere, and we can't really do anything about it." She added.

"I guess that's a fair point Em, but are you sure it's a good idea?" Henry asked curiously.

"Oh don't worry she'll be perfectly safe." Jenny said assuredly.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Henry said sighing.

"Then what?" Dorothy asked finally cutting into the conversation again.

"It's just that I really don't approve of my niece being a cat." Henry said.

"Oh, yea, I understand that." Jenny said nodding.

"Glinda are you sure there is nothing you can do?" Ellie asked looking at her sister worriedly.

"I can go home and check my books, I'll even have Alison look up some things, but I don't want to get your hopes up." Glinda said sighing.

"Then do it, I want my best friend back to normal." Ellie said sternly.

Glinda looked at her sister in surprise. Her face then dropped again and she waved her own wand and vanished.

"I'm not sure I can take much more of this either." Alex said sitting down.

"Don't worry, you get used to it after a while." Donna said.

"How long?" Alex asked curiously.

"How long what?" Donna replied.

"How long have you truly known about all of this?" Alex asked.

"A little more than a year, trust me, it can become a little too much to bear every now again but like I said you get used to it, isn't that right Uncle Alexander?" Donna asked referring to Mr. Alistair.

"You mean, you've all known? Jeez I knew there was something strange going on but I didn't know, is there a place I can lie down for a bit?" Alex asked curiously.

"why don't you go back to the car Alex, we'll be there in a minute with Annabella to go home and get your things packed, I think we should accept Ms. Jenny's and Ms. Jessica's proposition." Mrs. Teak said finally coming to her senses completely.

"I agree, but where will we go?" Mr. Teak asked.

"The summer cottage? The one down state? We do need to shut it down and get it ready for the winter at some point, you guys can do that after your done relaxing." Alex suggested before walking out of the house.

"That's not a bad idea actually, what do you think dear?" Mr. Teak asked looking at his wife.

"I think it's a plan, can you two pick them up tomorrow?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"If you give us an address then yes, Mr. and Mrs. Gale, what about Dorothy and company?" Jessica asked.

"I guess they can go, but can they go tonight?" Henry asked curiously.

"Sure, do you want us to take Toto as well?" Jenny asked.

"Jenny dear, do you really have to ask that?" Jessica asked curiously/

"I would assume no but it's always safe to ask." Jenny replied.

"Fair enough." Jessica replied.

"Well the answer is yes." Henry said.

"Right, so just give us some time to pack, well give me some time to pack, Aislynn still has clothes at the manor." Ellie said running off to the room she was staying in.

"What about Ellie's parents will they approve?" Mr. Alistair asked sounding concerned.

"As long as Dorothy's with her they tend to approve, not to mention that she spends more time home than not." Em said.

"Fair enough, anyways here's the address for the teak's residence." Mr. Alistair said handing the maids a piece of paper.

"Thanks alexander, come on dear, let's grab Annabella and head home." Mr. Teak said getting up and walking over to Annabella and picking her up.

"Bye." Annabella said waving.

Everyone chuckled and Mr. Teak walked out followed by his wife shortly after. Henry then got up and walked out of the farmhouse.

"I think I should go assist some people in the fields, Em could you go find a basket so that they have something to carry Dorothy in?" Henry asked walking out.

"But I don't want to travel in a basket." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I'm sorry but I'm afraid you need to." Em said sadly.

Em sighed and walked over to a nearby closet and pulled out a picnic basket, Dorothy knew it well but never thought she would see it again. It was the basket she used to carry Toto in when she first got him. Now the roles would be changed and she would be carried in it. Em set it on the ground and opened one of the sides and Dorothy climbed in. she sighed and stuck her head out of the basket and tried to get comfortable. She was beginning to not like this already. By the time she managed to find a comfortable position Ellie had already gotten her stuff ready and the basket was being carried to Jessica's car. She sighed and lay down in the basket. This was going to take some getting used to.

**Well Dorothy's in a bit of a pickle isn't she? How will she find a way to cope with it? and more importantly, how far will Glinda try to go to change her back? Find out in the next few installments.**


	29. A way to cope

**Disclaimer, well insert my usual disclaimer here**

When they had gotten to the Digg's residence Dorothy felt the basket being set on the floor. She stuck her head out of the basket to find that she was left in the parlor. The scepter was leaned up against the wall and Toto was sitting next to it as if guarding it.

"Toto, don't guard that old thing at the moment it just doesn't work." Dorothy said climbing out of the basket.

Toto barked and walked over to Dorothy.

"You know Toto, I used to wonder what it would be like to see things from your level, I just never realized it would actually happen." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of Ellie as she walked into the parlor.

"Yes Ellie?" Dorothy responded.

"Jenny wants to know if you're partial to tuna at all." Ellie asked.

"Sort of, but as a cat I'll have to get used to it won't I?" Dorothy asked.

"I would assume so, would you like to have some now?" Ellie asks picking up Dorothy so that she can look her directly in the eyes.

"Wow, now I know how Toto must feel when I do that." Dorothy said closing her eyes.

"What do you mean Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously.

"It's just, so odd, it's a bit dizzying, but could you please put me down?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure." Ellie said setting Dorothy down on the floor.

"Thanks, and tell Jenny, sure I would like some tuna I guess." Dorothy said.

Ellie nodded and walked out of the parlor. Dorothy sighed, though it seemed more like a purr to her, she then walked back over to Toto and the scepter. She looked at it and sat on her hind legs and Toto walked over and sat next to her.

"Toto, you know sometimes I wish I could understand you, at least I'd have someone to relate to at the moment." Dorothy said.

Ellie walked back in carrying a bowl and gasped, Dorothy looked up and saw that the scepter was glowing. An orange-yellow colored ball of light emerged from the scepter and flew down to Dorothy. It flew directly into her and she began to glow for a bit. The glow then subsided and Ellie and Dorothy both blinked in confusion.

"Dorothy what did you do?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I wished that I could understand Toto, that way I have someone to relate to, and I think the scepter just granted me one last request until I return to being human again." Dorothy said sighing.

"Quite right Dorothy, I wish you hadn't done that though." Came the voice of Glinda from a nearby mirror.

"How long have you been watching sis?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I'm always watching, now more than ever, and Dorothy, everybody is worried about you now more than ever." Glinda said sadly.

"I can imagine." Dorothy said sadly.

"Dorothy, I'm going to explain what you just did." Glinda said sighing.

"I'm all ears, not to mention all cat." Dorothy said.

"The scepter will not work as long as you're an animal, but the thing is, you asked to be able to understand Toto, and you will be able to I won't deny that, but that power might not leave you, there's a fifty-fifty shot that it will leave you as soon as you get transformed back." Glinda said.

"Well if it doesn't look at the Bright side." Dorothy said.

"What bright side?" Glinda and Ellie asked in unison.

"If the power doesn't leave me I could make a great veterinarian." Dorothy said

"Dorothy, that's not funny, our aunt did that once a long time ago." Glinda said.

"You mean the one that led you to become ruler of the north?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes Dorothy, but she did, after countless years of trying manage to break the spell she had cast on herself." Glinda said.

"Thanks sis that makes us all reassured doesn't it?" Ellie asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, well anyways, I'll let you get on with your eating, I am still searching for some way to change you back, but I don't like to deal with transformation magic." Glinda said vanishing from the mirror.

Ellie sighed and placed a bowl of Tuna on the floor in front of Dorothy.

"Thanks Ellie." Dorothy said.

"If you need anything Aislynn and I will be helping Jenny and Jessica get some guest rooms set up." Ellie said walking out.

"Thanks." Dorothy said sniffing the bowl.

She sniffed the bowl a few more times and took some of the tuna in her mouth and began to chew, this was definitely something she would have to get used to.

"You know, I've always wanted to be able to talk to you." Came a gruff yet high pitched voice.

Dorothy looked up from her food and looked around. Her gaze then fell upon Toto.

"Did you just say something?" Dorothy asked

"Wait so you did understand me?" Toto said opening his mouth again.

"Yes, I did, good I thought I was hearing things." Dorothy said.

"Nonsense, you wished it therefore I assume it's true." Toto said.

"Oh thank goodness, at least I'll have someone to talk to that can relate to me as an animal." Dorothy said.

"You know, animals think the same thing about humans, wishing we could be like you so we could relate." Toto said.

"I can imagine." Dorothy replied.

"No you wish you could, but I'll let you get back to your meal." He said walking out of the open parlor door.

"Thanks boy." Dorothy said returning to eating the tuna.

After a few minutes the clock struck four, had it really been that long? She finished off the tuna in the bowl and licked it clean. She then nudged the bowl forward with her nose several times until it was out of the parlor. She was greeted by Toto who seemed to have been sitting there waiting for her.

"Enjoy your meal?" Toto asked curiously.

"Yes Toto thanks, can you help me get this bowl to the kitchen?" Dorothy asked.

"I can carry it for you if you'd like." Toto offered.

"Do you think that you have enough strength?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"I'm sure I do." Toto said.

Toto demonstrated by taking the lip of the bowl in his mouth and bit down in it. Picking it up, he walked in the direction of the kitchen with Dorothy following closely behind. When they got to the kitchen door they found it open a crack. They both nudged the door open by pushing against it till there was an opening large enough for both of them to get in. once they were in Toto walked over to what looked like two dog bowls and set it down next to them.

"impressive." Dorothy said walking over to Toto.

"You know I don't think I'll ever get used to you being a cat, I liked you better as a person." Toto said sighing.

"I know, I don't like it either, but the jester is punishing me himself." Dorothy said sadly.

"Well he's wicked, no person should have to go through this, did it hurt to be transformed?" Toto asked sounding concerned.

"No, it didn't, it didn't really feel like anything, it just sort of happened." Dorothy said.

"Wow, I hope he changes you back soon, even if it means you lose your ability to understand me." Toto said whimpering.

"You know, I hope that somehow that fifty-fifty shot allows me to still be able to understand you." Dorothy sad rubbing the top of her head against one of Toto's ears.

"Dorothy, remember all those years ago when we met for the first time?" Toto asked curiously.

"Yes, I do." Dorothy said thinking about it.

"_Dorothy?" Came the voice of uncle henry._

"_Yes uncle henry?" Dorothy asked curiously walking over._

"_Mr. Rivers said you could adopt one of the puppies if you'd like." Henry said._

_Dorothy ran over, playing with one of her pigtails. She looked over at the dogs. All but one was cowering in fear of the large girl. He was small, black, and He was barking loudly at them._

"_I want that one, the one that's barking." Dorothy said._

"_Are you sure you want that one?" Mr. Rivers asked curiously._

"_Yes, I'm sure, does he have a name?" Dorothy asked curiously._

"_He never seemed to like the names we tried to give him, so right now no." Mr. Rivers said bending over and picking up the barking dog._

"_Can I name him uncle henry please?" Dorothy asked looking up at her uncle._

"_Sure, what name did you have in mind?" Henry asked curiously._

_Dorothy shrugged and walked over to Mr. Rivers. She stuck out her harms to receive the dog. As he was put into her grasp he barked a few times and licked her on the face. She giggled and looked at him. _

"_I think I'll call you Toto, would you like that to be your name?" Dorothy asked._

_The dog barked twice and licked her on the face again making her giggle. _

"_I think he likes that name." Henry said._

"_Toto it is then." Dorothy said smiling._

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of Ellie.

Dorothy shook her head and looked at Ellie.

"Huh?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"You were remembering something, even as a cat it's still obvious." Ellie said smiling weakly.

"Oh Toto asked if I remembered the day he and I first met." Dorothy said walking over to Ellie and rubbing up against her legs.

"Well at least if we have any visitors you have the whole cat act down, anyways, come on you two, we don't want you two to get lost do we?" Ellie asked picking Dorothy up.

"Ellie please put me down." Dorothy asked frustrated.

Ellie sighed and set Dorothy on the floor. Dorothy sniffed and looked at Toto who nodded and they followed Ell as she walked out of the kitchen. They walked for a bit and Ellie lead them upstairs, the walked up the stairs and to Aislynn's bedroom where Aislynn was now reading a book on her bed.

"Aislynn?" Dorothy asked walking over to the bed.

"Come on Dorothy you know you can jump up." Aislynn said.

Dorothy looked at Aislynn, she didn't question it though, and she just took a step back and jumped. She was surprised to find that she actually made it on to the bed. She got her bearings and sat up on the bed. Ellie then picked up Toto and set him on the bed next to Dorothy.

"So Ellie tells me you can now understand Toto." Aislynn said looking up from her book and scratching Dorothy behind the ears.

Dorothy made a purring noise and rubbed into Aislynn's hand.

"I think my instincts are taking affect or something, but anyways yes, he and I can communicate." Dorothy said sighing.

"That's not bad that means the jester's spell is taking full effect." Came the voice of Glinda from another nearby mirror.

"Hello Glinda." Aislynn said smiling.

"Dorothy, I've been doing some research, if the jester was telling the truth then no spell of mine can change you back, but there is one person I know, I don't want to have to try this but I think it might be the only way, I think there is only one person who might be able to help." Glinda said looking at Ellie sadly.

"Glinda please tell me you're not talking about who I think you're talking about." Ellie said worriedly.

"Ellie you and I both know that if he can't help then the jester is telling the truth, I have some emeralds set up as payment but you know we have to, he has helped us once before." Glinda said.

"Who is she talking about?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"The Nome King, he's probably one of the strangest people I've ever met, he specializes in all forms of transformation magic, and he's not evil, just a bit cuckoo." Ellie said shuddering.

"And you think he might be able to help?" Dorothy asked.

"No, but he's the only hope we have, he live in a mountain just outside of the boundaries of Oz, like I said, he's helped me once in the past." Glinda said frowning.

"When can we go?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I'm gearing for soon, but I had to send a special carrier dove to the mountains with a message saying I require assistance." Glinda said sadly

"So two or three days then?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yep, Dorothy, because you no longer have access to the scepter's magic, I cannot bring you to Oz personally, you'll have to be brought to Oz in a basket or carried by someone." Glinda said.

"Can I come to Oz and see my friends at some point?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Tomorrow Dorothy, I want to bring Alex and his little sister here as well as Donna and Kelly." Glinda said.

"There's no way Mr. Alistair would approve of that." Dorothy said sternly.

"But he does, they're staying there as well to help Alex cope, according to Donna, who I did manage to track down in the rainbow mover, said that her uncle doesn't mind as long as they don't come back as animals." Glinda said trying to repress a laugh.

"So, this is more than Alex can handle!? Wow that's rich." Ellie said laughing.

"Ellie it's not funny, how would you feel if you had no experience in Oz and had to witness and go through what he did?" Glinda asked sternly.

Ellie went from laughing to wide-eyed. She thought about it for a second and sighed.

"Sorry sis, I didn't think about that." Ellie said sighing.

"Right, try having some empathy sister dear." Glinda said sighing.

"Yes Glinda." Ellie said pouting.

"Right well I have to get back to researching, And Dorothy." Glinda said.

"Yes Glinda?" Dorothy asked.

"Try to stay out of trouble." Glinda said as she faded from the mirror.

"Dorothy and staying out of trouble, doesn't seem like two words that go together." Toto said.

"Toto you're not helping." Dorothy said making Ellie and Aislynn look at her.

"He said that me and staying out of trouble are two words that don't normally go together." Dorothy said explaining it.

Ellie smiled and nodded.

"Well Dorothy, you do have a bad habit of doing that." Ellie said chuckling.

"Look Ellie even though I can't deny that's true but please don't tease me with that." Dorothy said

"Girls! Dorothy! Time for Dinner." Came the voice of Jessica.

"Come on guys, let's go." Ellie said grabbing Dorothy and setting her on the floor.

Aislynn smiled and picked up Toto and they all walked out of the room, and headed to the kitchen.

**Well that's one way to cope, breaking the communication barrier. Well then what do you think about that?**


	30. Welcome to Oz

**Disclaimer, the usual.**

Dinner was silent, neither Dorothy, nor any of the others talked. Toto tried to engage in conversation with Dorothy twice afterwards but Dorothy wasn't really in the mood. Everyone turned in for bed early that night. Dorothy slept on the couch in the parlor, she was the first to awake, as far as she could tell. She stood up and stretched. She looked around, it was weird, and it was obvious that it was still dark out but she could still see. She shook her head a few times then jumped down from the couch.

"Good morning Dorothy." Came a yawning voice from Toto.

"Morning Toto, sleep well?" Dorothy asked.

"As always, you?" Toto asked curiously.

"Surprisingly comfortable but yes." Dorothy said.

"You'll find that being an animal can surprise you a bit." Toto said walking over to Dorothy and shaking himself off a bit.

"Toto, would you… wait someone else is awake." Dorothy said, as her ears and Toto's ears both perked up.

"_I wonder if anyone else is awake."_ Came the voice of Aislynn.

"Ace is awake." Dorothy said.

"You heard that?" Toto asked.

"Yes, is that how animals hear things?" Dorothy asked.

"It's how I know when you're awake or on your way home." Toto said happily.

"How about we go and say good morning?" Dorothy asked.

"I think she's coming to say good morning to us, listen." Toto said perking his ears up.

Dorothy perked up her own ears and listened. She heard the sound of footsteps moving around, but there was more than one set of feet. She was beginning to get a slight headache having to hear all this so she tuned it out and went back to talking with Toto.

"How do you deal with all the noise?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Eventually our brains just start tuning things out unless we want to hear it, other than that life is one big headache." Toto said as Jessica entered the room with a wooden bowl full of tuna and a saucer of milk.

"Well Dorothy, here's your breakfast, Toto come on boy, let's get you something to eat." Jessica said placing the bowl and plate on the floor.

"Well, have a good breakfast, see you in a few minutes." Toto said smiling.

"Thanks boy." Dorothy said.

Toto nodded and walked out following Jessica out of the parlor. Dorothy sighed and started eating the tuna. She was beginning to get a taste for tuna. After a few minutes she had gobbled down the tuna she went to the saucer of milk and started lapping it up. When she was content and had her fill she walked out of the parlor and to the kitchen. When she got there she found Toto gnawing on what looked like a cold chicken leg. She chuckled a bit and walked over to where Ellie and Aislynn were now eating breakfast. She jumped up on the table and sat down.

"Morning Dorothy." Ellie said tiredly.

"Morning Ellie, morning ace." Dorothy said happily.

"How was your sleep?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"I slept well." Dorothy said happily.

"same." Aislynn said happily

"I didn't sleep a wink." Ellie said yawning.

"Why not Ellie?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because I've been worried." Ellie replied.

"Ellie you should go get some more rest." Dorothy said.

"No, I'll be fine Dorothy, Jenny's gone to get Alex, Annabella, Donna and Kelly as well." Ellie said.

"Do you think Alex will be able to handle oz.?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Nope, but it will be funny" Ellie said chuckling.

Aislynn and Dorothy glared at her. Dorothy did her best to glare as a cat could. Ellie shrunk back and went back to eating her breakfast. Dorothy sniffed and jumped off the table. She then walked over to Toto who looked up and barked. Then he opened his mouth to speak to her.

"You want some?" he asked curiously.

"No thanks Toto. I was content with the tuna, besides, I don't like cold chicken." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Could be worse, could be cold turkey" he said.

Dorothy couldn't help but snicker at this remark. She sniffed again and walked out of the kitchen and too the parlor to await the return of Jenny. She jumped up on the couch by the window to keep an eye out and sat on the sill. Soon she found herself getting comfortable and she drifted off to sleep. She was sharply awoken about an hour later by the sound of an umbrella stand clattering over.

"Sorry." Came Alex's voice from outside the parlor.

Dorothy jumped from the sill, onto the couch and then onto the floor. She took a few laps from the saucer of milk and walked into the main hall. She immediately saw Donna, jenny and Kelly picking up some things from the umbrella stand. She saw Alex sitting on the stairs with Annabella. She chuckled and walked over to them. When she got over to them she found that Annabella was asleep in her brother's arms. She coughed but it sounded more like an odd squeak. Alex looked over to her and smiled weakly.

"Morning dorothy." Alex whispered.

"Morning Alex." She said quietly.

"Dorothy, Donna said something about Oz on the way here, are you going somewhere?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well sort of, I'll explain later." Dorothy said.

She then looked at Annabella, her eyes began to flutter and opened. She looked at the cat in front of her and giggled.

"Dorothy!" she shrieked trying to wiggle out of her brother's arm.

"Alex please put her down, I'm anticipating a tight hug." Dorothy said chuckling.

Alex smiled and set down his younger sister on the stairs. She leaned over and pulled Dorothy into a tight hug. Dorothy wheezed a bit and Annabella released her.

"Good, morning, Annabella." Dorothy said trying to catch her breath.

"Dorothy, there you are, we were wondering where you got to." Jessica said running into the room.

"I've been sitting in the window in the parlor waiting for these guys." Dorothy said.

"Oh, well then, I hope you kept yourself amused are the bowls still in the parlor?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Yes, and I'm done with them, would you mind clearing them up before someone steps on them?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure thing." Jessica said as Donna and Kelly ran over.

"Dorothy, are we really going?" Donna asked excitedly.

"What does she mean?" Alex asked curiously.

"What Dona talking bout?" Annabella asked curiously.

"I'll explain later, or in a few minutes that depends." Dorothy said as Ellie and Aislynn walked into the room.

Dorothy sighed when she saw Aislynn carrying the picnic basket. She really didn't want to travel in that thing but she knew it was inevitable.

"Dorothy, we'll be departing in a minute, you need to get in the basket according to Glinda." Aislynn said.

Dorothy sighed and walked over to Aislynn who set down the basket. She opened it and Dorothy noticed that Toto was also in the basket.

"They made me get in here, it's a bit cramped in here." Toto said being uncomfortable.

"I would imagine so." Dorothy said climbing in.

"What was that all about?" Alex asked curiously.

"Dorothy and Toto are able to communicate." Ellie said.

"Neat!" Alex said excitedly.

"Alex, I'll take Annabella, you take my hand as well, and Donna you take Aislynn's hand and hold onto Kelly's tightly." Ellie commanded picking up Annabella and taking Alex's hand tightly.

"Oi let go of me, what's about to happen?" Alex asked sounding concerned.

"You'll see." Ellie said chuckling.

Dorothy was about to say something when all of a sudden she felt the basket swing backwards and colors whizzing by. She began to feel dizzy and sick, she didn't like this sensation but at least she didn't lurch forward. All of a sudden she felt Toto smack right into her and the basket swung backwards and then suddenly forwards. They both were thrown from the basket and landed on the floor of the emerald city throne room. She looked around dizzily and saw Alex and the scarecrow running towards them.

"Dorothy are you okay?" they both asked in unison, Alex looked at the scarecrow and went pale, his mouth hanging open.

"Close your mouth Alex, unless you're going to be sick, in which case I'll go get a bucket." Glinda said walking over.

"I'm okay Alex, I think the better question is, how do you like Oz?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I, I, I think I need a bucket." Alex said in the throne.

"So this is Oz? It's just as you said it was." Kelly said in awe.

"Glinda, take them to my room, take Ace to the library, find the others, it's time for a war council." Dorothy said sternly.

"Yes mam, Alex come on." She said making a metal bucket appear out of thin air and handed it to him.

He promptly vomited into it, the scarecrow looked at Glinda quizzically.

"I don't think we should try and get him to move, Ellie take the child, Donna and Kelly to Dorothy's room, keep them amused until we get there, and take Toto with you." Scarecrow said sternly.

Ellie saluted and lead them along out of the throne room. Alex continued to vomit into the bucket as a table appeared in the middle of the room. Dorothy ran over and jumped up on the chair at the head of the table as everyone filed in. wiser, China Princess, Marshall Mallow, Lion, Tin man, and scarecrow all took their places at the table. Dorothy tried to smile and looked at them. They chuckled and looked at her.

"You are one cute kitten Dorothy gale." The princess said giggling.

"I agree dear, but I think I liked her as a girl better." Marshall Mallow said leaning over and kissing his wife.

"I know, um whose the guy vomiting sitting in the throne?" The princess asked curiously.

"That's Alex, I'm sure Ellie or Ace mentioned him at the last meeting." Dorothy said.

"She did happen to mention a boy, didn't give a name though." Tin man said drumming his metallic fingers against the table thinking about it.

"Well that I'm assuming is him, he's a bit of a bully, but I'm trying to change him, make him better." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, are you sure?" Glinda asked walking back into the room.

"I am, even if it kills me on the inside, as soon as I'm human again it will be my first priority at home." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, it's your decision." Glinda said.

"If you ask me, he's a keeper." The princess whispered giggling.

"Anyways, the jester's first real attack, and the first casualty." Glinda said referring to Dorothy.

"I think he just means to start a war, I say we find him and Tear him limb from limb!" The lion suggested pounding a fist on the table.

"Um as I've said many times, let's use brain, not brawn." The scarecrow said as they all heard the sound of metal hitting against the floor lightly.

They all turned to look at Alex who was wiping his mouth on his sleeve and walking over.

"I, I agree with the scarecrow, we need to think about this with tact." Alex said leaning against the chair Dorothy was in.

"Well spoken." Scarecrow said looking at him

"Nice Alex, you've impressed the scarecrow." Dorothy said looking up at him.

"Well think about it, if you guys just go into battle you'll get slaughtered, you need…" Alex said as Alyssa came in followed by a man.

"You need a battle plan." Alyssa and the boy said in unison.

"Hello Alyssa, who's your friend?" Dorothy asked teasingly.

"This, this is the leader of Locasta's army, locasta is the witch of the south, she's Glinda's cousin, this boy is Terrance, he and I are now dating." Alyssa said smiling and taking his hand.

"Congratulations on finding love, how's Elena on that subject?" Dorothy asked.

"Oh, she's the one who introduced me, all of Oz that hasn't been affected, even the winkies are joining us, preparing for war." Alyssa said as Elena walked up behind her and smiled.

"That's good, it's a start, but don't get your weapons ready right away, I want to try and take a passive approach." Dorothy said.

"I agree with Dorothy as well, there could be casualties if we jump straight into war." Alex said scratching Dorothy behind the ear making her purr.

"Thanks Alex, but there is no We, it's me he's after, not you guys, anyways, I'll never be able to kill someone, not on purpose." Dorothy said hanging her feline head in shame.

"Dorothy, you know that if it comes down to it the choice is yours, we will not influence it any more than we must." Glinda said sighing.

"Fair enough, well then I think this has gone on for long enough, War Council dismissed." Dorothy said jumping down from the chair and stretching.

"Dorothy, I don't even think you have it in you to kill, maim or general hit and harm, but never kill." Alex said picking her up.

For some strange reason Dorothy didn't mind being held by Alex. She purred for a bit and then he put her back down on the floor.

"Come on, I'll show you to my room." Dorothy said leading him off and out of the throne room.

Alex looked at the host of characters in the room and shrugged he then followed Dorothy out of the room. As she led him she constantly looked back to make sure he was following.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Alex asked curiously.

"I'm making sure you don't get distracted, when I'm human again I'll give you a proper tour." Dorothy said stopping and looking back at him.

"I think I'd like that." Alex said smiling.

"Trust me you will." Dorothy said chuckling.

"What?" he asked having gotten distracted.

"Oh never mind, come on we're almost there." Dorothy said trying to crack a smiled again, and failing miserably.

Alex shrugged and jogged to keep up pace soon they were at the door to Dorothy's room which was wide open. Ellie was sitting on the bed with Donna and Kelly, watching Toto and Annabella playing with each other. Dorothy made a meowing noise which attracted everyone's attention.

"Dorothy!" Annabella said pushing herself up and taking a few steps before falling on her behind again.

"What's that now? Eight steps?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes I think so." Ellie responded getting off the bed.

Dorothy and Alex both chuckled at this. Dorothy then walked over to Annabella and nuzzled her nose against Annabella's face making her giggle loudly. Ellie walked over and sat down next to them. Toto then walked over and sat next to Dorothy and opened his mouth to speak.

"She's a good kid, bit rough in terms playing, but her intentions are good." Toto said making Dorothy chuckle.

"What's so funny, did I miss a funny thing?" Alex asked walking over and chuckling.

"Toto said and I quote, she's a nice kid, bit rough in terms of playing, but her intentions are good." She said.

Alex chuckled and picked up his little sister and kissed her on the cheek. This surprised Ellie and made her gasp a bit. She wondered how a boy, one that she though was so bad, could do this, an act of kindness. Just then Finley flew into the room making Alex duck.

"Hello again Ellie, Aislynn, and strangers, I am Finley, and I would like you to know that while you're here in the emerald city I am at your service, even to that cat sitting next to Toto right there." Finley said landing on the ground and bowing.

"Finley, it's me, Dorothy." Dorothy said looked at the monkey.

Finley gasp and looked at the cat strangely.

"Was that you who said that?" Finley asked now a bit scared.

"Finley the jester attacked while we were in Kansas, Dorothy was turned into a cat as a result." Ellie said sighing.

"o-oh, I was told the jester was spotted again, but I didn't know Dorothy was a casualty, well at least she can still talk." Finley said trying to make heads or tails of it.

"Finley, just because I was attack, doesn't mean I want you to treat me any differently than you would if I were my old self." Dorothy said.

"Okay…" Finley said as a dove carrying a rock crashed through the window making everyone scream.

"Oh great, Glinda sent out Diana, the dumbest carrier dove we have." Ellie said.

Glinda then ran into the room with a concerned look, she saw the bird with the rock and sighed. She walked over to pick it up. Immediately a face grew on the rock and looked up at Glinda.

"Ah Miss Glinda, the Nome king will see you and your friends." The rock said.

"You know given my experiences recently this is just becoming semi-casual." Alex said setting down his little sister.

"Has he provided transport this time or do I have to do this all myself?" Glinda asked curiously.

No sooner had she said that, then they all found themselves in a cavern. Lit with torches Glinda chuckled, Alex looked down at his little sister who was looking around curiously.

"Where are we?" Ellie asked curiously.

"The Nome king's mountain, the waiting room actually." Glinda said.

"Glinda Upland, the Nome king will receive you and your friends now." Came a large booming voice, then a large opening in the room opened up before them in the rock.

Glinda sighed and picked up Dorothy and walked out, followed by Alex, Annabella and the rest of them. They were soon met with a man, he was tall, eccentric looking, he had a long grey beard that surrounded the majority of his face from the nose down, but you could clearly see a pipe sticking out of it, upon further inspection Dorothy noticed that he was as grey as the stone in the room. He looked down at Glinda chuckled.

"Ah, Glinda, it's good to see you again." He said in a deep serious voice, he then chuckled and lit his pipe with a burning red coal

**Well this seemed like a good place for a cliff. Yes the Nome king is in the story now I'm debating whether or not to make him a future villain. **


	31. A snag, an alliance, and some boredom

**Disclaimer you know**

"It's good to see you again too Roquat, you look well, why couldn't you warn me you were going to bring us here with magic?" Glinda asked curiously, she then set Dorothy on the floor.

"Oh Glinda you know me well enough, I, as you know, am a king, I'm allowed to have my fun every now and again." He said taking a puff from his pipe.

"Excuse me, Mr. Nome King, sir, do you mind if I take my friends, back to the little waiting room?" Ellie asked referring to Aislynn, Donna, Kelly, Alex, Finley, and Annabella.

"All of you but the Boy, the kitten, and Glinda may go, please wait outside if you must." He said waving them away.

Alex frowned and handed Annabella off to Donna. She frowned as well and looked up at the Nome King she then sighed and walked out with everyone else.

"Why must he stay?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Oh no reason really Ms. Gale, I just don't want this to be really one sided with all girls." He said waving a hand, causing a stone table and chairs to appear, "Please, take a seat." He added getting up.

As he approached Dorothy was able to get a better look at him. He was really tall, at least a few inches taller than the scarecrow himself. She could make out that he had greyish green colored eyes. He had a kind face, but at the same time it was one that said, stay away from me if I get angry. He smoked the pipe and blew some rings of smoke from it as he walked down the steps from his throne. His robe Dorothy could now see was completely grey like the rest of him. He chuckled and sat down at the table. Glinda rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a sack which she placed in front of him. He opened it and looked inside. He chuckled and pulled out an emerald of highest quality and cut.

"You must be really desperate for help this time Glinda, but I must warn you, I have my limitations, we are just as much under siege as you guys are." The Nome king said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Glinda asked curiously.

"The jester, he is draining energy from my kingdom, it is taking all my power to keep the mountain from collapsing in on itself." The Nome King said as the mountain shook a bit.

"The wicked man, I should have known Oz wasn't his only source of power." Glinda said snapping her fingers.

"Yes, well anyways, now to the matter at hand, or paw I guess." He said referring to Dorothy.

"Not funny Roquat, I need to see if you can change her back." Glinda said sternly.

"I will try, but I sense greater magic's than mine at work with this transformation." He said looking at Dorothy.

He took the pipe from his mouth and set it on the table. He then held out a hand palm out towards Dorothy. His hand began to glow a wonderful golden color, Dorothy shimmered a bit but nothing happened. The Nome king sighed and fell back limply.

"He was telling the truth then, only he can lift it." Glinda said seeing what happened.

"I, I have not had a spell do that to me since, since you tried that spell so many years ago." He said catching his breath and sitting up.

"It also means he's more powerful now than you or I ever imagined." Glinda said worriedly

"I know and that's what worries me, now we have an issue, but I have a proposition, because I have a military advantage." He said chuckling.

"And what's that?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"We live underground, we can spring up out of nowhere from our little hideouts between Oz and here." He said picking up his pipe and placing it back in his mouth puffing out a few rings out above his head.

"As I am not the subject of this war I am afraid that is not my decision." Glinda said sighing.

"Well then, Ms. Gale?" The Nome King asked looking at her.

"I'd have to discuss it with the scarecrow." Dorothy said.

"Well then, let's have him be brought." He said snapping his fingers.

There was a bright flash and a clap of thunder. The scarecrow was standing in the middle of the table holding Aislynn's. Aislynn was reading a book when they were summoned. She looked around and gasped when she saw the Nome king.

"Where are we?" The scarecrow asked looking around the room curiously.

"The Nome King's mountain." Dorothy said.

"Oh." He said as his eyes fell on the Nome King.

"Greetings your majesty, it is good to meet the ruler of Oz at last." He said snapping his fingers again causing them both to appear around the table in chairs.

"Is there anything he can do about Dorothy's transformation?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Sadly no, but that's not why you guys are here, it wasn't even intended that you end up here Aislynn." Glinda said sadly.

"Why are we here then?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"The Nome king wants to Ally with us." Glinda said.

The mountain then shook greatly and the Nome King raised his hands and the shaking stopped. Pebbles fell from ceiling of the cavern and on to the table.

"What's going on?" Scarecrow asked.

"It's ME!" Came the voice of the jester echoing from the cavern walls.

"Oh sweet Oz." The scarecrow said now frightened.

"Yes, now Rocky, why don't you just step away from them and join me, the one who's taking your power." The jester said chuckling.

"Beast of Darkness, cease your torment, I will not join you for I know I cannot trust you, just as your sister's betrayed me." He said angrily bringing his fist down on the table making Aislynn jump and hug the scarecrow tightly

There was a brief silence, there was sigh of frustration.

"Ah Roquat, you are such a disappointment, just like you were to my sister's." He said.

"They took my powers for granted, and now you are draining power from my land like your sisters did." The Nome king shouted raising a hand making a clap of thunder happen and the room fell silent.

"He's been at that for days, trying to get me to join in exchange for stopping using my lands power." He said sighing.

"And his sister's did the same thing?" Glinda asked surprised.

"I gave the witch of the west her crystal ball, the Witch of the east her ruby slippers, which I know are lost." He said placing a hand on his forehead.

"Your majesty, I would like to form the alliance." Dorothy said looking over to the scarecrow.

"I agree Dorothy." Scarecrow said nodding.

"I think as many allies are as good as possible in a war." Alex said finally joining the happenings.

"Thanks alex." Dorothy said.

"Well then, do we have a deal?" the Nome king asked producing a scroll from thin air and handing it to the scarecrow.

He opened it and read through it. Aislynn got up from her seat looked over the scarecrow's shoulder as she read it herself. Dorothy looked at Glinda and then Alex. The scarecrow put out his hand to Glinda who immediately produced a quill pen.

"It's completely flawless a plan." Aislynn said as the scarecrow signed the scroll.

"Thank you." Glinda said to Aislynn.

"And just so there are no betrayals this contract will be bound by magic, if one of us breaks it that person shall perish." He said referring to the scroll.

"Yep, that's a clause." The scarecrow said finishing the signature and handing the pen and scroll to the king who signed it immediately and handed it to Glinda.

She took out her wand and waved it over the contract and both it and the pen vanished. She looked at the Nome king and smiled. He smiled back and got up.

"I assume you want you and your companions to be returned to where you began?" The Nome King asked curiously.

"That would be nice, also I think we will be having a war council in a few more days, will you be attending?" Glinda asked.

"I shall, and my beautiful Glinda, I hope that we will find a way to bring down the jester." He said clapping his hands twice causing an opening to reappear.

"I hope so as well." Glinda said.

"Yes, go into the waiting room, I'll shall prepare to send you and your associates back to Oz." he said firmly.

They all got up and walked out, first Glinda followed by the scarecrow and Ace, then Dorothy and Alex. As Alex reached the opening the Nome king appeared behind him and place a hand on his shoulder. Dorothy looked back and saw this.

"Run along my dear, I just want to say something to him quickly." The Nome King said.

Dorothy nodded and walked along, as soon as the Nome King knew the girl was farther off he took Alex to the side.

"You wanted something your majesty?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes, I've seen the way you talk to her, the way you look at her, do you love Dorothy?" He asked curiously.

Alex went pale for a second but regained his composure. He looked at the Nome king and finally stuttered out.

"N-no Sir." He said nervously.

"Look, I know your lying, you love her or at least have a crush on her, is that correct?" The Nome king asked curiously.

"Yes sir." Alex said sighing.

"Good boy, she's a good kid, if it weren't for her destroying the wicked witches I would have lost my kingdom." He said chuckling," now run along and join your friends." He said patting him firmly on the back.

Alex nodded and ran down the passage. He found himself back in the waiting room with everyone else. They looked at him curiously.

"What did the King want?" Donna asked curiously.

Alex sighed.

"Nothing important, just wanted to thank me for being kind." He said.

Dorothy looked over Toto who was sitting next to Ellie who was now holding Annabella. The next thing they all knew they were standing back in Dorothy's Emerald City bedroom. Dorothy looked around as did Toto. They were all confused about what happened. Finley who hadn't said anything the entire time finally fainted on the floor. Ellie set Annabella on the floor and walked over to Finley and picked him up. She sighed and brought him out of the room.

"Glinda, take everyone out of here, I think I need a lie down." Dorothy said jumping up on her bed.

Annabella yawned loudly, Alex and Donna chuckled.

"I think you need a quick nap then we can return back to the diggs residence." Donna said walking over and picking her up.

"Glinda do you have a crib or a cradle around here somewhere?" Alex asked curiously.

"No, but I can make one." Glinda said waving her wand making one appear next to Dorothy's bed.

"Does it have to be in here?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes." Glinda said sternly making them all jump.

"Okay, okay, no need to snap it's just a question." Alex said in defense as Donna put Annabella in the cradle.

"Have a nice rest you two." Aislynn said walking out with the scarecrow.

"Thanks, Glinda, would you mind leaving? Alex, Donna, Kelly you as well?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure thing Dorothy." Donna said grabbing Kelly's hand and dragging her out, Alex following close behind.

Dorothy looked at Annabella in the cradle, she had quickly fallen asleep. She sighed and laid down on her bed. Toto then whimpered and walked out of the room. It wasn't long before Dorothy found herself falling asleep.

_Meanwhile in the throne room._

Glinda, Donna, Ellie, Kelly and Alex were sitting around playing with Toto and Ellie's red ball.

"You know some times I wonder why I still carry this thing." Ellie said.

"Well, for amusement I'd assume Ellie." Glinda said sitting down on the throne and catching the ball as it came to her.

Toto walked over to Glinda and barked. He then walked over to Ellie and pawed at one of her shoes.

"What's he doing?" Alex asked curiously as the ball was tossed over to him.

"For some strange reason he likes toying around with my shoes." Ellie said sitting down and pulling off her shoes and surrendering them.

"strange." Alex said tossing the ball to Donna.

"Eh like I said, strange things, you get used to it." Donna said bouncing the ball against the floor to Kelly.

"Yea, what Sissy said?" Kelly said bouncing the ball against the floor and it bounced towards Ellie.

Ellie caught the ball and bounced it off one of the walls. She looked at Toto and chuckled as she watched the dog playing with her shoes as if in some sort of trance.

"I wonder when Annabella will wake up." Glinda asked curiously.

"Not for another hour at most, she was up pretty early." Alex said getting up.

They all sighed and spent most of the time sending the ball back and forth between each other. That is until Ellie had an idea.

"You guys, why don't we find some better way to occupy our time, I mean sure Glinda has to keep her spell bound to keep both us and the Nome Kings mountain safe, but surely we can find something else to do." Ellie said catching the ball and pocketing it.

"Ellie's right Donna, we need to find something better to do than sit around and toss around a small, shiny red ball." Alex said getting up and looking at his cousins.

"But what can we do? I mean, we're not Aislynn who keeps herself amused through reading." Donna said getting up then helping her sister up.

"Hey don't make fun of her for that." Ellie said retrieving her shoes from Toto.

"Sorry Ellie." Donna said smiling and giggling.

"Right well Donna's right, what can we do?" Alex asked curiously.

"Here's an idea, why don't you guys go outside, I'm sure you find something to do, or even better, a side project, I know you've been making something to give to Dorothy, why don't you have these guys help you with it?" Glinda asked curiously

"No, no it's not important." Ellie said putting her shoes on.

"I think Glinda had the right idea, let's go outside, I'd like to do some sightseeing." Donna said walking towards the door.

"Actually that does sound good, why don't I show you the Royal gardens, Ellie said running over to Donna and grabbing her hand and dragging both her and Kelly out.

Donna pulled out of Ellie's grasp and looked back at Alex.

"Aren't you coming?" Donna asked curiously.

"No, no thank, I don't like gardens, they're just a bit girly." Alex said with a frustrated sighing.

"Hey I resent that." Glinda said from the throne.

"Oh no offense Glinda, I've just never liked a garden." Alex said sitting back down and sighing

"Suit yourself, come on Kelly." Donna said dragging her sister along in her wake.

Alex sighed and got up again. He walked over to the window and looked out it from the sill. He looked at the sill for a minute and a thought popped into his mind

"Hey Glinda?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes alex?" Glinda asked?

"Is there enough room on this sill for someone to sit on?" Alex asked.

"Alex if you push yourself over the edge and look down you'll notice a ledge that's large enough for a few people to stand on side by side comfortable, so yes." Glinda said.

Alex placed his palms down against the sill and pushed himself up. after a few minutes he was sitting on the outer ledge with his legs dangling over the side. He looked at the Land of Oz and sighed it was truly beautiful, strange yet beautiful. He then had the sensation of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He knew in an instant that he was being watched he turned around and saw Dorothy, sitting looking at Alex with a curious look. She then walked over to the window and jumped up on the sill.

"Annabella awake?" Alex asked about to get up.

"Yep, but don't worry, Glinda's getting her." Dorothy said jumping down onto the ledge and sitting next to Alex.

"Be careful on here, you could fall." Alex said looking concerned.

"Cats always land on their feet don't they?" Dorothy asked giggling.

"Fair enough, anyways how was your, Cat Nap?" he asked trying to repress a chuckle at his own joke.

Dorothy swiped at him with one of her paws and meowed.

"I resent all cat jokes at the moment, and remember I do have claw." Dorothy said sternly.

"Sorry Dorothy, please don't scold me though, I hate that." Alex said smiling and scratching Dorothy behind the ear.

Dorothy purred in content, she enjoyed being scratched behind the ears now, similar to Toto who was sitting on the floor inside the throne room.

"you know some times when I just wanted to relax I just sort of climbed up here, no one really approved of it for fear that I would fall." Dorothy said giggling.

"I can imagine, it's a beautiful view though." Alex said smiling.

Dorothy wanted to crack a smile but she knew it was hopeless, she decided on rubbing her head against his side would suffice to say that she agreed with him completely.

"Dorothy! Come inside this minute, you too Alex!" came the voice of scarecrow.

"Oh scarecrow we aren't doing anything dangerous." Dorothy said turning around to face one her best friends who was also accompanied by Aislynn.

"Yea straw man, it's not like were dancing the Charleston up here." Alex said.

"Alex please shut up." Dorothy said, knowing if she had a hand she would have cupped it over his mouth at this point.

"Sorry." He said getting up and climbing back into the room.

Dorothy jumped back up on the sill and into the throne room. Glinda then came into the room cradling Annabella in her arms.

"Oh you two came in so soon?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Wait you actually approved of them being on the outer ledge!?" Scarecrow asked sounding surprised.

"Yes, I mean we've established it's only dangerous if you're walking around up there and not watching what you're doing, so why not?" Glinda asked looking at the scarecrow.

"Well what if one of them accidentally slipped and fell off?" Aislynn asked in turn now expressing concern.

"Ace, one that would never happen especially if one is sitting firmly on the ledge, two Dorothy is a cat so she would at least land on her feet." Glinda said handing Annabella off to Alex.

Annabella wrapped her arms tightly around her brother's neck and giggled. She then signaled that she wanted to be set down on the floor. Alex smiled and did this, Annabella then pushed herself to her feet and looked around, her gaze finally fell on Dorothy and she literally took off in a bit of a jog at her. Alex, Dorothy, Aislynn, and even Glinda gasped in surprise at this. Annabella then stopped just short of Dorothy and picked her up. She then walked all the way back over to Alex.

"Oh my stars, she actually did it, she ran and walked, isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Glinda asked now slightly confused.

"No, not always." Alex said chuckling.

"And all because she wanted to hold me I guess." Dorothy said giggling.

"Yea, that's not bad, thanks for being a cat so that she had motivation." Alex said kneeling down and scratching Dorothy behind the ears again.

"No problem, not like I have any alternatives." Dorothy said.

"Hey, you know what, where are the others? Why don't you surprise them with this news?" Aislynn asked looking at them.

"The royal gardens, Alex, here's the plan I'll lead you into the garden, then Annabella when I wave you will run into the garden is that understood?" Glinda asked.

"Understood." Annabella said setting Dorothy down on the floor.

"Good, come on, follow me the royal garden and courtyard is this way." Glinda said leading them out of the throne room.

_Meanwhile in the garden._

Ellie and Donna had spent their time in the garden making flower wreaths, Kelly was talking to the china princess who was writing down what flowers should be in the garden next and how they should be arranged.

"And that's how you do it." Ellie said showing Donna the flower wreath that she had made.

"Who taught you how to do this?" Donna asked curiously.

"The princess." Ellie said referring to the china princess.

"Oh wow." Donna said surprised.

"So this is the garden? I like the other way you explained it, it is more of a court yard." Came the voice of Alex.

Donna looked around and saw her cousin and Glinda walking towards them.

"So got lonely didn't you?" Donna asked teasingly.

"Nope, just bored, and… wow you made a wreath." Alex said referring to the wreath that Ellie was holding.

"Yep, and if Dorothy weren't a cat I'm sure she would do the same" Ellie said giggling.

"Is Annabella awake yet?" Kelly asked taking notice that Alex was there.

"Yes." Glinda said making a brief wave behind her.

Annabella then ran into the courtyard laughing happily. Donna gasped as did Ellie and Kelly.

"Annabella, my god slow down, you could trip." Donna said still amazed.

Annabella giggled and ran up to Donna and hugged her legs tightly, knocking over Donna onto her backsides. They all shared a laugh at this as Donna and Annabella got up. Donna dusted herself off as Aislynn, Dorothy, Toto, and Scarecrow walked into the courtyard.

"You know, I should probably be sending you guys back soon." Glinda said finally managing to say after they had stopped laughing.

"Awe, but I want to show them around some more, maybe even take them to the business district." Ellie said in a complaining tone.

"Maybe later Ellie, but you guys should really get ready to go back." Glinda said smiling.

"Awe sis, couldn't we stay the night? Maybe we could work together to find a spell to lift Dorothy's transformation." Ellie said.

"Ellie, even if that was possible we would need to search through even forbidden magic's." Glinda said placing a hand under her sister's chin.

"Fine, I'll go get the basket to carry Dorothy and Toto in." Ellie said in defeat.

Ellie began to sulk and walked back into the city. Dorothy looked at Glinda sadly.

"Do I really still have to travel in that thing?" Dorothy asked as Toto barked curiously as well.

"Sorry Dorothy, there isn't another way which I can transport you." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and kneeling down to face her.

"I could carry her?" Alex offered.

"Are you sure? I mean you'd have to have a pretty tight grip on her, and from experience I know that is a difficult task." Glinda said quite concerned.

"Alex, I think I'd rather risk being thrown from the basket again thanks." Dorothy said.

"Suit yourself." Alex said as Ellie ran in with the basket.

Ellie looked at Dorothy sadly and opened the basket setting it on the ground. Toto looked at the basket and climbed in first and then Dorothy followed. Ellie then put the lid on the basket and Dorothy closed her eyes. Soon enough the basket swung backwards. She was immediately thrown into Toto.

"Ouch." He said

"Sorry." Dorothy said.

"We should be home soon so hold on." He said as the basket swung backwards and abruptly forward.

Dorothy was thrown from the basket and landed on the floor of the Manor. She was immediately picked up by Alex and set up right. She knew this would take some getting used to as well.

**Well this seemed like a good stopping point.**

**also to answer an Old question, where i got Ellie's name came from. Ellies name is borrowed from the Russian adaption of the wizard of oz by Alexander volkov. but the version of the character is entirely my own**


	32. Loneliness and a new problem

**Disclaimer – the usual.**

_The Diggs residence, One Week later_

It had been a week since Dorothy's last departure from oz. but life as a cat made things really boring. She wasn't allowed to leave the residence outside of the picnic basket. Toto didn't even talk to her that much which was sad for her. The only people who really paid her any attention as a cat was Ellie, Aislynn, Alex, and Annabella. But they didn't really talk to her. Donna and Kelly spent their time helping Jenny and Jessica with some sort of side project. Therefore life for Dorothy had been rather lonely, Dorothy wished she could just change back into human, but she knew only the jester could manage it. she spent her days and very much of her nights wandering around the house, looking for doors that she could easily nudge open, discovering more and more about the place. It was really bigger than it looked from the outside, there were empty rooms, rooms coated with nothing but a thick layer of dust. But she didn't discover anything really useful. In her last discovery she found a room with a pipe organ similar to the one she found in the emerald city, the difference being it had much more dust. It was now extremely late at night, she was about to go back into the parlor and fall asleep when she heard the sounds coming from upstairs. She followed the sound to the point where it brought her to one of the guest bedrooms. The door was open a crack so she lightly pushed against the door with the top of her head and walked in. it was Alex's room, she saw him sitting at a desk in the room, a lamp turned on he was reading a book of some sort. She walked over and saw that he was wearing a pair of glasses. She wanted laugh but she didn't want to attract his attention to easily. She walked over to side of the desk and jumped up making Alex jump.

"Dorothy!" he said surprised.

"What you reading?" Dorothy asked.

"A book I borrowed from Aislynn, I needed something to do." He said shutting it and showing it to Dorothy.

Dorothy saw that it was definitely one of the books she had seen before in aislynn's room. It was a history book, one that she hadn't seen before.

"And, um the glasses?" Dorothy asked.

"What glasses?" he asked curiously.

"The ones your wearing." Dorothy said.

Alex looked at her and then put his hand up to his eye. His face changed to an expression of surprise.

"My reading glasses! I didn't realize I put them on, force of habit I guess." He said taking them off and looking at them.

"You need reading glasses?" She asked curiously.

"Yes, but I don't like to use them." He said folding the bows back against the lenses and setting them on the desk.

He then got up from the chair and scratched Dorothy behind the ears. Dorothy purred and looked around for a clock. She found a small one and found that it was eleven. Alex looked at the clock as well and stretched yawning a bit.

"I think it's time for bed." He said switching off the lamp and walking over to the bed.

Dorothy sighed and walked back to the door and walked out of the room/

"Goodnight Dorothy" Alex said.

"Night." Dorothy said as she walked out of the room.

She walked back downstairs to the parlor, and jumped up on the couch. She rested in a comfortable position and soon was asleep.

_Meanwhile at the jesters hide-out_

The jester was lounging against the crystal ball. He was chuckling to himself as Dorothy spent her time as a cat.

"Well well Dorothy gale, not really enjoying this are we?" he asked into the crystal chuckling

He got up and walked over to his spell book. He then memorized the spell he needed to change her back when something caught his eye. He noticed some red text that said warning.

"What's this?" He asked reading through it.

It was a page of downsides, side effects to being transformed to a cat and back. This made him rather angry, he didn't want to harm her intentionally but now he knew there were possibilities of her being permanently damaged.

"Oh sweet Oz! Oh jester you really messed up this time." He said looking back at the crystal ball.

He looked down at the crystal ball. He saw Alex walk in to the room. He then scratched Dorothy behind the ears and lay down on the couch across from the one that Dorothy was sleeping on. He then smiled and chuckled.

"Well, at least you'll have some sort of companionship to help you cope with it, but I'll give you another day before I change you back." The jester said sighing.

He then waved the wand over the crystal and it switched to the image of Glinda looking through a book, the same spell book he was using.

"Well, well Glinda sweet Glinda, you think you can just search the problems away?" He asked chuckling.

"_I thought he didn't want to harm her!?" _she said angrily.

"She must have found the downsides." HE said to himself.

"_I mean the possibility of still having the possibility keeping the ability to see in the dark or the sharp hearing can be a plus, but really, she could be unable to walk for a up to three months, even Dorothy wouldn't be able to cope with that easily." _ She said sounding upset.

"What!" he exclaimed before reading back into the book.

He read through the page again. He stared at the words angrily and picked up the book and threw it across the room. He picked up the wand and threw a spell at a painting on the wall causing it to explode. His intention wasn't to cause any direct harm, just to make her life a bit more difficult. But the damage was done and the only way he could undo it was to break the spell. But he realized, there was no way he could get close to her, not during the day anyways, he knew he'd have to cast the spell some point in the night. But now, she would wake up to find herself possibly unable to walk, at least not for a while. He hadn't known that it would be a side effect. He knew had he known he wouldn't have cast the spell in the first place.

"Well then, sleep well Dorothy gale, and good luck in two days' time." he said sadly, going back into his lounging position to rethink his plans.

**Okay sorry this chapter was so short, but I promise the next chapter will be much longer. Anyways with the many questions I've been asked. The one of whether or not it will be a DorothyXscarecrow fic. No its going to be a scarecrowXaislynn fic, I really thought I had dropped enough hints but I guess not.**


	33. The side effects of changing back

**Disclaimer, you know 32 chapters in I should probably stop adding these but you know, the usual**

Early the next morning Dorothy woke up and stretched. She then noticed Alex was sleeping on the couch across from her. She was surprised by this and jumped up the couch and was immediately met with Toto.

"He's been lying there all night, keeping an eye on you." He said.

"Really?" she whispered curiously.

"Really." He said.

"That's nice of him." She said impressed with Alex's new behavior.

"Yes, and Dorothy." Toto said.

"Yes boy?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"When you do become human again can you do me a favor?" he asked curiously.

"Sure, what is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Invest in a baseball bat, I've always wanted to chase something launched like a baseball." Toto said.

Dorothy giggled at this and nodded.

"Sure thing boy, but right now, you should probably go see if someone will let you out to run around outside." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I don't want to be outside if I can't be with you." Toto said whimpering a bit.

"Toto, don't do that because of me, you need to exercise" Dorothy said concerned.

"But I miss playing with you, I can't do that with you as a cat." Toto said whimpering more.

"Toto please don't whimper like that, it makes me upset." Dorothy said rubbing her head against Toto's.

"Dorothy I'm serious, I want you to be you again, and I just can't take this anymore." He said as a tear dripped down his long nose.

"Toto please, don't cry." Dorothy said.

"What's wrong with Toto?" Alex asked sitting up on the couch.

"He's upset that I'm still not changed back yet, and it's making him lonely that I can't play with him personally." Dorothy said looking over to Alex.

"Oh, is that why he's reluctant to come outside with us?" Alex asked curiously.

"WHAT!?" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Toto doesn't ever want to come outside with us, he constantly refuses to even be led." Alex said getting up and walking over.

"Toto!" Dorothy said scolding him.

Toto whimpered and put on a pout.

"Dorothy, don't scold him, you have to understand, you're his owner, he needs YOU, he may trust us some times, and he may trust Ellie and Aislynn with his life but they're still not you." Alex said picking up Dorothy and looking into her eyes.

"Alex, I…" Dorothy said hanging her head in defeat, he was right she had no right to scold Toto.

She knew that Toto loved her a lot. She also knew that he did get uncomfortable when she was gone for long periods of time which is why she brought him everywhere. She remembered the first time she went on a long trip with her uncle to visit her parent's grave to lie flowers there. It was the last time she went till she took Aislynn there. Toto had hidden himself underneath Dorothy's bed and not even auntie Em was able to get him out until Dorothy had gotten home.

"Dorothy, you're thinking about something right?" Alex asked curiously.

"How could you tell?" Dorothy asked as Alex set him back down on the floor.

"Because you still get a strange face." Alex said chuckling.

"Thanks dear, I'm sure she loves you for that." Came the voice of Jenny as she walked in with a bowl of tuna and a saucer of milk.

"Oh good morning jenny." Alex said.

"I'm not insulted, I do tend to make a strange face when I'm thinking hard about something." Dorothy said as the bowl and saucer were set in front of her.

"Oh." Jenny said as Dorothy began to hungrily eat the tuna.

Alex was about to say something when a knock came from the door. Jenny was about to go get it when Alex stopped her.

"I'll get it jenny, you keep Dorothy and Toto company." Alex said as he walked out of the parlor.

Dorothy perked up her ears and listened as Alex opened the door.

"_oh Mr. and Mrs. Gale, what brings you here?" _Alex asked curiously.

"_It's been quiet around the house we just wanted to stop by and checkup." _henry said as Dorothy heard them walking to the parlor.

"Auntie Em, Uncle Henry!" Dorothy said as they walked into the parlor.

"Dorothy, we've been missing you around the farm." Em said picking up Dorothy and kissing her on her head.

"Auntie Em, please don't do that." Dorothy said.

"Sorry dear." Em said setting her down.

Dorothy giggled and went back to eating. Em and henry chuckled at this. Dorothy looked up and her aunt and uncle and then went to lapping up the milk.

"I didn't think you liked tuna." Henry said smiling.

"I didn't but as a cat I've come to like it." Dorothy said giggling.

After a few seconds they all heard the sounds of footsteps coming from upstairs and soon Aislynn and Ellie were in the parlor.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale, what are you doing here!?" Ellie asked completely surprised.

"Things got too quiet around the farm." Henry said as Aislynn hugged both of them.

"Hello ace, how have you both been?" Em asked curiously.

"We've been fine Mrs. Gale." Aislynn said, Ellie nodded in agreement.

Toto wanting to be part of this as well barked.

"Oh Toto, it's definitely been quiet without you around." Em said picking him up.

Toto barked a few times and everybody but Em and henry looked at Dorothy.

"He says 'thanks, it makes me feel loved more now.' "She said.

"You can understand him now?" Henry asked curiously.

"Yea, kind of messed up with magic a bit, now I can communicate with him at least." Dorothy said thinking that as a practical upside.

"Dorothy, what if it's permanent!?" Em said now quite concerned.

"Glinda said there's a fifty-fifty shot that when I get transformed back I could either lose the ability or be stuck with it." Dorothy said sighing.

"Those are some nice odds though." Came Glinda's voice from the mirror behind them

They all looked at the mirror and saw Glinda's face. It was evident that she had been crying at some point during the night for her face was stained with tears.

"Glinda, what's wrong, you were crying." Ellie said walking up to the mirror.

"Oh, yes, one second." Glinda said vanishing from the mirror and then appearing in the room in front of them, she then tossed a package to jenny.

"What's this miss?" she asked curiously.

"Its tea, wake the others and start the tea, I'm afraid I have discovered something recently, something that will affect Dorothy most of all." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and picking her up.

"Glinda, please put me down." Dorothy said as Glinda walked over to the couch and sat down on it, setting Dorothy down on her own lap she began to scratch her behind the ear causing Dorothy to purr a bit.

"What is it Glinda?" They all asked in unison sounding now really concerned.

"I want to tell all of you at once, that way it is of no surprise to anyone when it inevitably happens." Glinda said sadly.

After a few minutes Jenny returned with a silver tray carrying a pot of tea, several cups and a pitcher of milk. She was followed by donna, who was carrying Annabella, Kelly, who was carrying a bowl of sugar, and Jessica, who was at this point extremely concerned to see this many people in the parlor once more. Soon the tea was served and almost everyone was seated except for Annabella and Alex, who was now holding Annabella in his arms because she had been woken up so early. Glinda moved to the side on the couch and made room for him to sit. He obliged and sat down, Annabella's eyes then met with Dorothy's and she began to giggle. She struggled out of Alex's grasp and picked up Dorothy. Alex and Glinda moved over to give her room so that Annabella could sit comfortably with Dorothy in her grasp. She then realized that no one else was laughing and immediately stopped and gave a blank stare,

"Now, to what I discovered." Glinda said taking a sip of tea.

"Yes, that upset you in some way." Em said.

"Yes, well, I found the book that I'm pretty sure I found the book that the jester is using for his spells, and with the transformation he used, I found that with the transformation, there are some… side effects…" Glinda said trailing off.

Everyone gasped, Ellie looked like was about to burst into tears.

"What's side affect?" Annabella asked curiously.

"It's like an after effect dear, sometimes they can be good, but side Effects can mostly be bad." Glinda said.

"What are the side effects Glinda?" Alex asked now sounding very concerned.

"Well, which ones would you like to hear first? Good or bad?" Glinda said.

"Personally, I want to hear the good first." Dorothy said.

"I agree." Henry said.

"Same." The rest of them said getting impatient.

"Well, there is a possibility that she will keep the ability to see in the dark, and she'll most likely still have really, really good hearing, and she'll have an improved sense of smell." Glinda said happily.

"And the bad news?" Ellie asked curiously.

"The down side is that with her transformation, when she gets changed back, and you guys may be want to put your tea down." Glinda said.

Everyone nodded and obeyed.

"Now, Dorothy, I don't want you to worry too much, but when you get changed back you will not be able to walk, and sadly for up to three months" Glinda said.

Annabella was surprised by this and let go of Dorothy. She then looked at Glinda.

"Dorothy won't be able to walk?" Annabella asked sounding sad.

"Yes my child." Glinda said sadly.

"Oh." She said hugging Dorothy tightly.

"Yes, I should also mention that there is the possibility that she'll still have the sharp teeth, but those will also be temporary, the one thing that won't be is the fact that she might still have the sharp nails, but those can still be filed down or something." Glinda said sadly.

"Well… this is a bit depressing." Dorothy said.

"I agree, Glinda, can we change the subject." Alex and Ellie in unison both sounding a bit like they were going to cry.

Every one sat there in silence for a few minutes then went back to their tea, henry was the first to break the silence with a question, wiping some tears from his own eye.

"Is there anything you can do?" Henry asked placing a hand on his wife's

"I'm sorry, but like I said it will last for I believe at the most three months, I can provide a wheelchair if you'd like." Glinda said, her face taking on a sad expression.

"But, what about the scepter? It's helped her before." Ellie asked sounding a bit hopeful.

"Ellie you know magic has its limitations, physical disabilities is one of the things magic cannot repair without delving into the darker parts of it." Glinda said meeting her sister's gaze.

"Oh great." Dorothy said sarcastically.

"Dorothy I'm sorry but you're going to have to figure out a way to cope." Glinda said.

"What about the eyes?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Come again?" Glinda asked curiously

"The eyes, what about them?" Dorothy asked

"Oh, well the book didn't mention them on any of its pages." Glinda said thinking about it.

"Great, so it's just the luck of the draw then?" Alex and Dorothy both asked.

"You better believe it!" came the voice of jester echoing throughout the room, in turn making Annabella hug Dorothy tightly.

"What, do, you want, now!" Dorothy said as Annabella continued to hug her tightly

"Oh just to say, I'm sorry, I didn't know about the side effects." He said sadly.

"Yea well, apology accepted, could someone stop Annabella please!" Dorothy said as Annabella continued to hug her tighter in fright.

"Sorry" Annabella said realizing what she was doing.

"No problem, just don't do it again please Annabella I like being able to breath." Dorothy said catching her breath.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to your conversation, I'm so sorry." He said.

Dorothy shook her head and looked around. She jumped off of Annabella and walked over to her aunt and uncle. She then jumped onto her aunt's lap and looked up at them.

"Dorothy, your uncle and I will need to think of a plan, we'll need to talk with your teacher, Mr. Pryce, Mr. Alistair, Officer grey, and doctor Maxwell." Em said.

"Auntie Em, please don't tell doctor Maxwell, I mean if I come in there with sharp teeth, green eyes and sharp claws, what do you think is going to happen?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"Dorothy, your aunt is right, you should at least inform one doctor, and I'll help them explain it." Glinda said going back to her cheery tone.

"But will he believe you? No probably not." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, if the Teak's will believe it so will him." Glinda said smiling.

"But how can you be sure?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"I'll go to call on him personally, no need for any of you guys to do anything, just sit there and relax when the time comes." Glinda said sighing as if trying to find a way to win this battle.

"Thanks Glinda." Em said rolling her eyes.

"But why can't we just keep it a secret from Doctor Maxwell?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because Elena won't be able to help us at the moment, she's currently in the south with her sister meeting up with Locasta, did I ever mention that I could have been ruler of the south?" Glinda asked curiously.

"No, no sis you did not mention it." Ellie said.

"Oh, must have slipped my mind, well Locasta is our cousin Ellie, you already know that, but she was ruler of the south before our aunt died and I ascended the throne of the north, she could have taken over for our aunt and I would have gone to the south." Glinda said trying not to make eye contact at this point.

"Why didn't she?" Donna asked curiously.

"Because she didn't want to, I think, she never actually explained that, nor have I ever really asked." Glinda said thinking about it.

"Well then, fair enough." Donna said finishing off her tea.

"I assume that the jester is most likely thinking of changing Dorothy back soon." Ellie said.

"What makes you say that?" Alex asked curiously.

"Because he apologized, he wouldn't need to, and as far as I know really doesn't unless he's about to do something like that." Ellie said.

"Fair enough, I think." Alex said slightly confused.

"May I be excused? I'm going to go for a bit of a walk." Dorothy said jumping off her aunt's lap.

"Sure, we'll come up with a plan while you're gone." Em said.

"Thanks." Dorothy said walking out of the parlor.

Toto barked and followed after her. Dorothy walked far enough away from the parlor so that she could drown out what was being said. She then turned around to see to her surprise that Toto had been following her.

"So, when you do get changed back you won't be able to run around the farm with me then." Toto said in a sad tone.

"Guess not boy, but I could always get a wheel chair and roll around the farm." Dorothy said trying to stay optimistic about it, and failing.

"But there's no fun in that." Toto said whimper

"I'm sorry Toto it's just the way it has to be, I have no say in the matter, and neither do you." Dorothy said.

Toto was about to say something when he perked up his ears Dorothy did the same with hers and listened. She heard Glinda, and not to her surprise, doctor Maxwell.

"_But I still don't see how we got here so fast." _Doctor Maxwell said now extremely confused

"_Doctor Maxwell, I told you, magic." _Glinda said trying to explain.

Dorothy tuned it out again and looked at Toto.

"Should we go back?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Probably, by the way, that reminds me, what's a therapy dog?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, a therapy dog? Well I guess it, it's like a dog, that helps people feel better, psychologically and somewhat physically I assume, I've never really needed one so I don't really know that much." Dorothy said thinking about it.

"Dorothy, can I be one? I know they want me to be one there, I mean Doctor Maxwell and company." Toto asked curiously.

"Well, I need to get us a contract first." Dorothy said chuckling.

"I can wait." Toto said as they started walking back to the parlor.

"Dorothy!" came the voice of Alex.

"Coming Alex!" Dorothy said as he ran up to them.

"Dorothy, Glinda brought Doctor Maxwell here." Alex said picking her up.

Dorothy sighed and purred. For some reason she still felt comfortable in Alex's arms then she did in anyone else's. She purred a little louder, making Alex chuckled.

"Comfy?" He asked teasingly.

"Yep" she said sounding content

"Good, because we're back at the parlor, ready to face Doctor Maxwell?" Alex asked curiously.

"If I said no you'd bring me in there anyways, so I'm ready as I'll ever be."

"Good point." he said chuckling and walking in.

"OH, what a strange looking cat." Doctor Maxwell said taking a sip of tea from the cup he had been given.

Toto barked and Doctor Maxwell looked down at him.

"Oh is Dorothy here?" Doctor Maxwell asked curiously.

"I'm right in front of you." Dorothy said looking at Doctor Maxwell.

Doctor Maxwell went white as a sheet. Alex chuckled as Doctor Maxwell took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. Toto then walked over and jumped up onto his lap. Doctor Maxwell chuckled and pet Toto for a bit before looking at the cat.

"Tell me that cat didn't just talk." He requested nervously.

"Sorry doctor Maxwell, but if we told you that it would be dishonest." Em said sighing.

"B-bu-bu-but, how?" He asked going pale.

It took Glinda nearly an hour to explain what had happened. Doctor Maxwell, still extremely confused eventually fainted and had to be brought to a guest room.

"You had him leave his assistant in charge right?" Em asked Glinda as they set him on the bed.

"He said he put his best doctors and nurses in charge before we left abruptly." She said smiling warmly

"Oh, well why did you bring him here?" Em asked curiously.

"Because, well one if we told him the story after Dorothy had been changed back he wouldn't have believed us, two when she is changed back I want to make sure she is completely unharmed and without Elena around this was my best option." Glinda said looking down at the doctor.

"How long do you think it will be before he wakes?" Em asked curiously as they walked out of the room.

"I'd give it an hour or so, if not well maybe till tonight, anyways let's get back downstairs, Jessica did say she would keep an eye on him for us." Glinda said as Jessica walked past them.

Soon they were back down stairs and in the parlor with everyone else. Dorothy was now lying down comfortably on the couch next to where Alex was sitting, Donna had taken Annabella upstairs for a nap so that she could get some more energy. Aislynn and Ellie were talking with henry about what they would do why they got back to the farm, Toto was sitting on Ellie's lap, and Jenny, it seemed had been spending some of the time dusting.

"So, how long do you think it will take him to wake up?" Ellie asked now turning to face her sister.

"I'd give it a few hours at most." Glinda said sighing.

Ellie sighed and went back to talking with henry. Then it hit her, something they had all neglected to ask.

"Glinda?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes Ellie?" Glinda responded.

"Did you tell the gang in Oz? I mean did you inform the scarecrow or even the china princess?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes dear, anyways even if I hadn't the china princess is probably keeping an eye on us in the crystal ball." Glinda said sighing.

"Oh." Ellie said looking over to the scepter.

It was still dark, it hadn't glowed since the day Dorothy had been transformed. This kind of depressed her. She took Toto off her lap and got up and walked over to it. She then picked it up and held it tightly in her grasp. It didn't feel the way it normally did, it felt odd, but she couldn't tell why. She then took it over to the couch Dorothy was on and set it against the couch. Dorothy looked up at it and sighed.

"That hasn't glowed since I was changed into a cat." Dorothy said rubbing her head up against it.

To everyone's surprise, for the first time a small glow appeared in the orb. It refilled with the smoke that it normally had. Ellie gasped and picked it up, but dropped it shortly after with a wince.

"What happened?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"It shocked me!" Ellie said shaking her hand in pain.

"Until Dorothy is restored back to her relatively normal self the scepter will allow you to touch it." Glinda said walking over and picking it up.

"Why are you able to touch it then?" Alex asked curiously.

"I can't really, I just have a high tolerance to pain." Glinda said pointing out the scepter was indeed shocking her.

"Glinda please put it down." Dorothy said now worried for her friend's health.

Glinda nodded and put it down on the couch she then walked over to the mirror on the other side of the room. It began to ripple and immediately the chambers appeared in it. The mirror in the chambers had been moved next to the rainbow mover, they could see the scarecrow fiddling around with it.

"Scarecrow." Glinda said into the mirror.

The scarecrow turned around in surprise. He dropped whatever it was he was holding which they heard clatter to the floor. He ran over to the mirror and signaled for someone to come over. After a few seconds the china princess came into view.

"Glinda, did you tell them?" China princess asked.

"Yes, they are all aware of the side effects now." Glinda said sighing.

"Well then, now all we have to do is wait for the jester to change her back." China princess said.

"Yep." Glinda replied.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout_

The jester was looking at the crystal ball, once more lounging. He flicked the wand and the crystal went dark. He then got up and sighed. He walked over to the book he had used for the spell and shut it.

"In a few hours I shall make the return journey to Kansas to change her back." He said in a sad tone.

He then walked back over to the crystal and set his hand down on it. It glowed but it didn't show anything, it just glowed. He then flicked the wand again and the scene of the parlor reappeared.

"_But Glinda, why can't we just keep her in Oz when she is changed back?" _came the voice of the china princess.

"_Because I care about her education and the school should be reopening in another week or two."_ Glinda said as the clock struck three in the afternoon.

"Oh Glinda, sweet Glinda, you worry too much." The jester said chuckling.

"_Glinda, do you have any idea when you'll be back? I'm not sure Alison can keep your spell bound for much longer." _The scarecrow said sounding quite concerned

"ah yes, the spell that's supposed to keep mine from spreading, though I have not willed my spell to spread they still fear it will." He said chuckling a bit more.

"_Hopefully soon, whenever Dorothy's been changed back really, which I hope is soon, but I don't think the jester would ever come back to Kansas during broad daylight." _Glinda said sighing.

"Well at least she knows me well enough to know I won't come out during the day," He said sitting back down in his chair.

"_Well I guess we'll just have to wait." _The princess said sounding frustrated.

"_Donna you should probably go get Annabella up from her nap." _Alex said.

"Ah yes, the child I seem to scare so much." He said flicking the wand again and getting up.

He cackled wickedly and walked out of the room. He walked for a while before he found himself at the quarters he was keeping the monkeys in once more and barged in. the monkeys jumped up to attention in fright.

"Seriously, don't do that!" he said yelling at them causing them to scatter.

"Now, I am heading to Kansas again soon, I want my dinner to be prepared for me when I return just like last time, is that clear!?" he asked glaring down at the captain.

The monkey nodded quickly and saluted. The jester nodded and walked out of the room slamming the door behind him. He then walked towards the kitchens and walked in. he then grabbed himself and apple and took a large bit out of it, he then abruptly spit it out into the nearest trashcan.

"Nope, still hate apples." He said tossing the half eaten apple behind him.

He then laughed wickedly again and flicked the wand, vanishing from the place entirely.

_That evening, in Kansas._

It had taken a few hours but Doctor Maxwell had finally awoken. It was now ten minutes to seven in the evening and he still hadn't come to terms with what was going on. It seemed to him that the stress of being a doctor had finally gotten to him and he had finally snapped. It took Glinda a long time over dinner to explain that he was definitely still sane and that this was all actually happening. As soon somewhat began to understand what was going on but he wasn't really sure anymore. He wanted to believe it, but at the same time he felt that he couldn't.

"Doctor Maxwell?" Dorothy asked walking into the dining room.

"Yes Dorothy?" He asked not even looking at her.

"Don't worry, it does take people a while to come to terms with this, but I promise you that eventually it will seem completely not out of the ordinary when I'm around." Dorothy said walking over.

"But I refuse to believe this, it can't be physically possible." He said trying to convince himself.

"Ha! You don't recognize things that don't seem normal to you as possible, you see Doctor Maxwell I know impossible, and I've seen it since I came into Dorothy's custody." Aislynn said sternly.

Doctor Maxwell hung his head in defeat, sadly the child was right, who was he really to say what was truly impossible. In the medical profession you see a lot and the lives of others are in your hands, but this really took the biscuit. He didn't know what to truly believe anymore, not at this point. The clock then struck half past seven and Donna brought Annabella up to bed. Dorothy followed closely behind her. Soon they were in the guest room which Donna, Kelly and Annabella were staying in. Donna placed Annabella in the crib that had been set up in there and then looked down at Dorothy.

"So hopefully you'll be back to normal by morning." Donna said smiling.

"I hope so." Dorothy said sighing.

"Goodnight Dorothy." Annabella said leaning against the bars of the crib and looking at Dorothy.

"Night Annabella, hopefully I'll be my old self again when you awaken." She said walking over to the crib.

Annabella giggled and scratched Dorothy behind the ears for a bit making her purr. Dorothy then giggled and walked out of the room and found her way back to the parlor. When she got there she found her aunt and uncle, Glinda, Doctor Maxwell, and Alex waiting for her, Glinda was trying her best to keep eye contact with Doctor Maxwell.

"Ellie, Aislynn and Kelly are helping jenny and Jessica set up some more guest rooms." Glinda said not even looking at her.

"Oh." Dorothy said walking over to Alex and jumping up onto his lap.

Alex chuckled and scratched Dorothy behind the ears. She purred loudly and looked up at him.

"You know, I can't wait for you to be changed back." Alex said sighing.

"I can't either." Dorothy said giggling.

"But you still won't be able to walk." Em said concerned.

"I know, but at least I'll be me again." Dorothy said jumping off Alex's lap and walking over to the other couch.

Glinda finally broke eye contact with Doctor Maxwell and blinked.

"There, now you have the full story." Glinda said snapping her fingers causing him to blink and shake his head.

"I see, and, um what exactly did you do?" doctor Maxwell asked curiously.

"To put it bluntly I just used magic to tell you the entire story of what's been going on." Glinda said.

"Ah, that explains the scenes that happened in my head, speaking of that does anyone have a pain killer? my head is pounding from that." He said rubbing his temples.

"That will fade in a minute, it's just your brain coming to terms with the information." Glinda said looking over to Dorothy.

"Would you guys mind leaving I think I'm going to go to sleep now?" Dorothy said jumping up onto the other couch and then onto the window sill.

"The guest rooms are ready, would you like us to lead you to them." Jenny said walking in with Jessica, Aislynn and Ellie.

"Sure, we were just about to come find you guys anyways." Glinda said as they all got up and left.

Dorothy sight and jumped down on the now empty couch and lied down. She purred and looked at the scepter. The glow was beginning to return to it. It was as if it knew she would soon be back to normal. And it couldn't wait. It was then that Dorothy heard Toto walk into the room.

"So you should be back to normal soon?" Toto asked curiously as he jumped up on to the couch.

"I hope so, I hope I don't lose the ability to be able to communicate with you." Dorothy said looking at him.

"Dorothy, if you do lose the ability, there's just something I want to say to you personally." Toto said.

"What's that boy?" Dorothy asked.

"Thank you for being such a good owner over the years, and I'm glad we finally got to communicate with each other for once." Toto said happily.

"You're welcome Toto, and maybe I'll get lucky, I don't know, but if the jester does show up to change me back I want you to be waiting outside the door to stand guard." Dorothy said.

Toto nodded and jumped off the couch. Dorothy then rested her head down and fell asleep. Soon the clock struck nine and Alex walked into the parlor. Shutting off the lights he lied down on the couch across from Dorothy and soon fell asleep. As the clock struck the last chime of the hour the jester appeared in the room. The scepter began to glow a bit brighter. He took out the wand and looked at Alex, then faced Dorothy who was now sleeping peacefully. He then whispered something and a small golden ball of light floated out of both the scepter and the wand and combined in the air. Flying directly into Dorothy she began to glow brightly. Glinda then ran into the room with Toto and Doctor Maxwell. The jester looked at them with a face that showed he was truly sorry for what he had done. Glinda turned the lights back on and both Dorothy and Alex were snapped awake. The first thing Alex saw was the jester. He then gasped when he saw Dorothy glowing.

"He's changing her back." Glinda whispered as to not disturb anyone.

The jester smiled and stepped out of the way. Dorothy herself now realizing what was happening immediately jumped off the couch. The change was almost instantaneous but when she found herself still on the floor. She could feel her legs but she couldn't move them, it was as if she had forgotten she sighed and looked at the jester.

"Thank you." She said fixing her hair which had now fallen into her eyes.

The jester said nothing, he just vanished. Alex got up from the couch and helped Dorothy up onto the couch she had just jumped off of. He sat her down and got a good look at her.

"Well the eyes are definitely back to normal." He said smiling.

**Well that was really a long chapter. I still haven't decided whether or not I should allow Dorothy to keep the ability to communicate with Toto and the expand it to other animals**


	34. An eventful day

**Disclaimer, well you know. Also quick note to the reviewer duck girl. I'm a he not a her, boy not a girl just figured I'd finally correct that problem.**

Dorothy hadn't gotten to get back to sleep after she had been transformed back. But she did know for sure that for the most part she was back to normal, well normal except for her nails and teeth just like Glinda had said. Glinda had also produced a hand mirror for Dorothy to look at herself in. she knew that smiling would now be a bit of a chore since she pretty much had fangs. Her nails looked relatively normal except they were pointed towards the ends, a bit like claws. Glinda preformed a quick spell to make sure that she was completely unharmed besides the inability to walk. And then had Doctor Maxwell give her a quick physical examination. It was nearly midnight by the time they finished and luckily it seemed Dorothy was completely unharmed.

"Well, may I finally go to bed now, I do have to get back to the hospital in the morning." He said wiping his brow.

"Yes, you may, see you in the morning." Glinda said warmly.

Doctor Maxwell sighed and walked out. Alex then walked back into the room now that everything was done and walked over to Dorothy. Their eyes met for a brief second before he looked away.

"So, how does it feel to be you again?" he asked curiously.

"Better." She said patting the cushion next to her.

He smiled and sat down next to her. Toto looked at Glinda and barked tiredly, he then walked out of the parlor to find some place to sleep comfortably.

"Dorothy, later I'll be taking you guys back to Oz, I'll have a wheel chair ready for you when you arrive, but now I must be off." Glinda said vanishing, leaving Dorothy and Alex by themselves.

Dorothy yawned and stretched her arms. She then looked down at her boots. They were still there, they hadn't been affected at all by spell. She then looked at Alex.

"Would you mind helping me with my boots?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not at all." He said getting up and kneeling down at her feet.

"Thanks, it just feels weird I can feel them, it's not like I'm paralyzed or anything but I can't move them, it's like they're asleep, but without that strange tingly feeling." Dorothy said as Alex pulled off her boots.

"There better?" He asked picking them up and setting them to the side.

"Much, thanks." She said looking at the scepter and raising her hand.

The scepter glowed a bit and flew into her hand. It then dimmed.

"Neat, are you going to explain to me what that is?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well, it's a long story." Dorothy said.

"I've got time, well as long as you don't mind staying up past midnight." Alex said looking at the clock.

Dorothy smiled and told him her story. About how she originally ended up in Oz, and the story behind the scepter. After condensing the story a bit so that they weren't going to be up till next week. It was about one in the morning by the time she had given him the full explanation. When this was done she smiled as he yawned and looked at the clock.

"Wow that was a long story." He said reclining back on the couch.

Dorothy yawned herself and stretched. Setting the scepter down against the arm of the couch and leaned her head on Alex's shoulder.

"Yeah, that's why I tell it to the children in the library little bits at a time." Dorothy said closing her eyes.

"Tired?" he asked teasingly.

"Yea, very at this point, I got a cat nap before I was changed back, but it wasn't much." Dorothy said sighing as Alex got up and set her head gently down on the couch.

"I'll get you a blanket if you'd like." He offered.

"No thanks alex, I'm fine" Dorothy said sighing.

"Fair enough." He said shutting off the light and walking out of the parlor.

Dorothy sighed in content and soon she was once again asleep. She was awakened hours later by Annabella crawling on top of her giggling.

"Good morning Annabella." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy normal again!" Annabella said giggling.

"Yep, I just can't walk at the moment." She said smiling.

"Alecks told me that." She said giggling as she climb off of Dorothy.

Dorothy giggled and Ellie ran into the room followed by Aislynn and Alex.

"Dorothy, thank goodness you're you again." Ellie said running over and hugging her extremely tight.

"Thanks, Ellie, could you please let go of me though, I can't breathe." She gasped out.

"Oh, sorry." She said letting go of her.

"thanks." She said catching her breath and then grabbing the arm of the couch she pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"So, you definitely can't walk then." Ellie said, her voice taking on a sad tone.

"Yep, I can still feel my legs, I just can't move them." Dorothy said as the scepter flew over to her hand.

The scepter began to glow brightly. Alex walked over and looked at it. Ellie then grabbed his wrist and placed his hand on the scepter. She then grabbed Annabella's and grasped it tightly. Then for the first time in a while Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. She held onto the scepter tightly as she saw the colors whizzing by her. She then began to feel dizzy and sick as she always did. She then felt herself landing in a chair. She looked around and saw Alex, Annabella, and Ellie.

"Where's Aislynn?" Dorothy asked looking around.

"She's still at her manor, she didn't grab the scepter." Ellie said.

"But that shouldn't affect it." Dorothy said.

"the transport was meant just for you while you were holding the scepter, when I had alex, grab the scepter and grabbed on to Annabella's hand I knew well enough that we would get brought here, you may have noticed you are now in wheel chair." Ellie said.

Dorothy looked around her, she was indeed in a wheel chair, it was rather plain looking but it would serve its purpose till she could walk again. She sighed and tested out the wheels they worked and it didn't seem that hard to use. She looked around some more and saw Glinda, scarecrow and China Princess walking towards them.

"Ah, I see you brought some friends." Scarecrow said.

"Not intentionally." Dorothy said

"Oh, well it's good to have you back to normal." He said walking over and ruffling her hair.

"Thanks, um can you send these guys home so they can get changed and then bring them back?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure." Glinda said waving her wand causing Ellie, Alex and Annabella to vanish.

"Thanks, Glinda do you have a pair of nail clippers with you?" Dorothy asked referring to her claw like nails.

"I have a nail file that I borrowed from Alyssa." She said pulling it out and handing it to Dorothy.

"Is there anything you can do with your magic to restore my nails?" Dorothy asked.

"I think so, let me try." Glinda said waving her wand over Dorothy's hands.

Dorothy watched as her hands began to glow. The nails began to shrink down until they were back to their normal length. Glinda chuckled and set her wand down. She then placed a hand under Dorothy's chin and gave it a light squeeze making her mouth open.

"Glinda what are you doing?" The china princess asked walking over curiously.

"Look." She said referring to Dorothy's open mouth.

The china princess did this and gasped when she saw the sharp teeth that had been left over from the transformation.

"It's like she has fangs, thank goodness they're only temporary though." She said sighing.

Dorothy was about to say something when her stomach growled. She stuck her hand out again and the scepter flew right into it. She then wheeled over to the door of the chambers.

"Where are you going Dorothy?" scarecrow asked curiously.

"To the kitchens, to get something to eat." Dorothy said.

Glinda flicked her wand and a plate of eggs, with toast and an apple appeared in her hand. She walked it over to Dorothy and handed it to her.

"Thanks." Dorothy said.

"You're welcome." Glinda said smiling warmly and pushing Dorothy back to the middle of room so she eat.

"Well, we'll leave you to eat, we'll be back in a few minutes." Glinda said leading scarecrow and the china princess out of the room.

As soon as they were gone Dorothy quickly devoured the toast and eggs. She was extremely hungry living on a diet of milk and tuna for the last week had made her extremely hungry. Soon her hunger was appeased leaving the apple as the only thing she hadn't eaten. It was then that Alex reappeared in front of her.

"Where's Annabella?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She's still at the Diggs residence as is Ellie, and Aislynn, Donna and Kelly just woke up so they'll all be here later, but can you give me a tour?" Alex asked curiously.

"Sure, follow me." Dorothy said wheeling the wheel chair back over to the door.

Alex followed and pushed the door open. He then followed her as they went on their way. Dorothy would first show Alex the library. When they got there she signaled for him to open the doors. He pushed the open and looked in he gasped at the size of the place. Dorothy smiled and looked up at him. She then wheeled herself inside. She wasn't surprised to find the scarecrow walking around with a large pile of books in hand. The scare felt that he wasn't alone and set the books down on a nearby table. His eyes then caught Dorothy and Alex in his range of vision and he chuckled.

"Ah I see Glinda brought you back, Alex was it?" scarecrow asked curiously.

"Yes your majesty." He said making scarecrow give an annoyed face.

"Please don't call me that, it's just scarecrow or straw man, but preferably scarecrow." Scarecrow said chuckling for some strange reason.

"Yes sir!" Alex replied saluting.

"Close enough." Scarecrow replied shrugging.

"Right, Dorothy is giving me the grand tour." Alex said smiling.

"Ah showing around her friend, that is great, why don't you bring him to the business district?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"Because there's so much to see." Dorothy said.

"Right, well you can show him the palace later, why don't you head to the business district, since you last left, Brianna's shop has grown in popularity, I'm sure she'd love to see you." Scarecrow said.

"Ooh that's a good idea, I'll head to Brianna's does she know about my condition?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I do now, what the heck happened to you!" Brianna said running over.

"Didn't Glinda tell you?" Dorothy asked.

"I knew you were transformed, but I was busy, my shop as you just heard has grown really popular, oh hello, who are you?" Brianna asked curiously.

"I'm Alex, I'm one of Dorothy's, um, and friend I guess would be the word for It." he said chuckling.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, any friend of Dorothy's is a friend of mine." Brianna said offering a hand for him to shake.

He obliged and Brianna went to get a good look at Dorothy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, you're a friend of Dorothy's?" Alex asked.

"Yes, Dorothy why aren't you wearing any shoes?" Brianna asked curiously.

"Didn't have any time to put any on I was brought here rather abruptly." She said.

"Ah that's Glinda for you, come on you two." Brianna said walking around the chair, turning it around and pushing it towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked hurrying after them.

"My shop." Brianna said.

"Brianna slow down so I don't drop the scepter." Dorothy said.

"Whoops sorry." Brianna said.

"Anyways I know we're almost in the business district." Dorothy said.

"I know, um Alex don't dawdle." Brianna said looking back as they went under the arch that lead into the business district.

"Oh sorry." He said running to catch up.

"Yea, emerald city is a bit much to take in, did the same thing the first time I came here with my parents." Brianna said as they came up to her shop.

"So this is your place?" he asked.

"yep." Both Dorothy and Brianna said in unison.

"It's an ice cream parlor?" Alex asked looking in side.

"yep." They replied again.

"Glad my little sister isn't here, she would explode with excitement." Alex said as Brianna unlocked the door and let them all in.

"How large is your flavors list now?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"In the last month I've made about three volumes of the menu." Brianna said pushing Dorothy to the counter.

"Three volumes? How many pages?" Alex asked in astonishment.

"50 pages each, needed to keep them light weight." She said pulling out the menus.

"Do you still do peach?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"That's one of the most popular since someone let slip that it was one of your favorites." Brianna said going behind the large counter and getting out a large bowl.

"I think I'll share the peach with Dorothy." He said.

Brianna smiled and in a flash scooped out several large scoops of peach, produced two ice cream spoons and handed the bowl to Alex. She then emerged from behind the counter and pushed Dorothy over to a table.

"Thanks, Brianna and I'm assuming by someone let slip, you mean Ellie right?" Dorothy asked.

"yep." Brianna replied.

As soon as the wheel chair was square at the table Alex handed Dorothy a spoon. Dorothy thanked him and took a spoonful of ice cream. She smiled and sighed.

"So Brianna where's Chrissy and Caitlyn?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"They're out and about, haven't seen them in a few days actually, and Caitlyn is training to be a hair dresser in her free time." Brianna said watching them as they ate.

Dorothy swallowed some ice cream and looked at Brianna.

"I thought you were supposed to be the busy body?" Dorothy asked taking another spoonful of ice cream.

"I don't like the idea of being a hair dresser." She said

"Fair enough." Dorothy said as she swallowed another spoonful.

"Anyways, how long have you two known each other?" Brianna asked curiously.

"What?" They both asked in unison.

"Come on you think I don't see it?" she asked teasingly

"What?" Dorothy asked confused.

"You know, you two." She said in a suggesting tone.

It was then that it struck Dorothy, she and Alex were pretty much on a date weren't they?

"Oh you think? No don't be ridiculous, we're friends." Alex said before Dorothy could open her mouth.

"Oh, I see, _Friends _I get it you don't want people to know." Brianna said.

"No Brianna, it's not like that, Oi, shut up." Dorothy said making Brianna laugh.

"Suit yourselves." Brianna said teasingly.

Dorothy looked at Brianna who walked away laughing. She then looked at Alex questioningly.

"You don't think we could really be a couple do you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"No, no of course not, it's just silly to even suggest such a thing." He said laughing nervously.

"Yea, silly." Dorothy said picking up the scepter and grasping it tightly.

"So…" Alex said taking one last spoonful of ice cream then pushing the rest of the bowl at Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and took one last spoonful as well. She then looked at Alex and smiled.

"Crazy huh?" Dorothy asked.

"Ah-huh, definitely" he said chuckling and grabbing a napkin and wiping his face.

Dorothy did the same, she sighed and giggled. She then motioned for him to push her along.

"See you later Brianna!" Dorothy shouted.

They were greeted with the sound of loud joyous laughter. Dorothy sighed and shook her head smiling.

"Come on alex." She said.

As soon Dorothy and Alex were out of the parlor it soon became evident that they had been in there for at least half an hour because the streets had become full of people. It was then that someone spotted her and gasped. She signaled for Alex to run and they did all the way back to the palace. The doors to the palace then shut quickly behind them and barred themselves.

"We saw what happened, I give it five minutes before people start trying to break down the doors." Glinda said walking over with Ellie.

"Are, you, serious!?" Alex asked panting

"Maybe less." Ellie said walking over and taking Dorothy's chair.

"Where are the others?" Dorothy asked worriedly

"Everybody is in the chambers." Glinda said walking over to Alex and leading him over.

"I think I need to sit down." He said coughing.

"You can sit when we get to the throne room!" Ellie shouted.

"Ellie!" Dorothy gasped in surprise.

Glinda sighed in frustration she waved her wand and they all appeared in the chambers. Glinda walked over to the throne and pushed Alex down into it. Dorothy then saw her aunt and uncle and wheeled over to them. They gasped and ran to meet their niece in the middle, they knelt down so that they could embrace her. Dorothy wrapped her arms around them and cried a bit, she had missed being able to hug. She then felt Toto jump onto her lap.

"Feeling better?" Toto asked curiously.

Dorothy gasped in delight.

"Yes Toto much better." Dorothy said.

"You can still understand him?" Glinda asked in concern.

"I don't see why you're concerned." Ellie said.

"Because, it's not just Toto she understands, she hasn't come into contact with other animals in her world, she'll be able to understand all of them, and it will drive you mad." Glinda said.

"Glinda, don't worry, I'll be fine, oh there you are Annabella." Dorothy said as Annabella ran over.

Toto barked and jumped off of Dorothy's lap. Annabella then climbed up on Dorothy's lap in turn and soon a loud bang resonated throughout the city.

"Oh dear." The scarecrow said worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Donna asked curiously.

"That's the entire population of the city trying to break into the palace to see Dorothy." Glinda replied.

"Oh, um how many people live in the city at the moment?" Kelly asked before her sister could respond.

"Hundreds of people." Scarecrow said as tin man, lion, wiser and marshal mallow ran in.

"They're breaking the door again!" Lion yelled.

"Oh dear not again, how long do you think we have?" Scarecrow said.

"Not long now." Wiser managed to pant out.

"I'll take Aislynn, Donna and Kelly out of here, Alex take Annabella out of here." Ellie said as they heard more banging and then a loud cracking sound.

"Too late." The tin man said in a worried tone.

"Glinda could you send us back to Kansas?" Dorothy asked concerned.

"Yes, but they would get here and tear the place apart looking for you." Glinda said sighing.

"Am I really that popular here?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes." Glinda, Ellie and scarecrow said in unison.

Just then a bunch of people came pouring into the chambers.

"Ms. Gale would you be willing to share with the emerald city gazette, what led you to be in a wheel chair?" One of the men asked.

"The jester." Dorothy said.

"Are you worried that he may cause you more physical harm?" Another man asked taking out a pad and pencil.

"This is only temporary, so no." Dorothy said.

"Good, now what brings you back to Oz and who was that boy that was with you?" The man asked.

"That's Alex, he's one of my friends." Dorothy said.

"And who's that child you have with you?" Another man asked.

"This is Annabella, she's Alex's little sister." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy can you confirm or deny any relationship with that boy who was with you?" both the men asked.

"I deny it." Dorothy said "for now" she added under her breath.

"Dorothy, do you mind if we question your aunt and uncle?" A women asked.

"Yes" both Em and henry said in unison.

"My faithful subjects, if you don't mind it is rather early, would you please leave so that we can repair the door you guys broke." The scarecrow shouted.

Everyone looked at each other, the citizens grumbled and walked out followed by the scarecrow and lion. Soon they came back and looked at Glinda who sighed and walked out. Annabella had buried her face into Dorothy's chest. Dorothy sighed and stroked Annabella's hair.

"Annabella, they're gone." Dorothy said calmly.

"All of those people must have frightened her." Donna said.

"Yea." Dorothy said as Annabella looked out from her not so effective hiding spot, she looked around and sighed with relief.

"Dorothy, I'll take Annabella, you should go find some place to relax." Glinda said walking back in.

"Thanks Glinda, would you mind watching these guys?" Dorothy asked as she wheeled herself to the door and handed Annabella off to Glinda.

"Sure, but where are you going?" Glinda asked curiously.

"The clearing." Dorothy said calmly.

"Take the back way out, it will avoid you having to go through your usual way." Scarecrow said.

Dorothy smiled and nodded, she then wheeled her way out of the chambers and too the closet exit she could find. She then made her way around the city until she saw the docks and wheeled over towards them. She had gotten really close when she heard Alex calling for her loudly. She looked back to see him running towards carrying something in one of his hands. She waited and allowed for him to catch up. When he got to her, she saw that he was carrying a pair of flats in his hands.

"Glinda told me to bring you these and hope that you hadn't already embarked." Alex said kneeling down and putting the flats on her feet.

"That's not all though if I know Glinda and my friends well enough they asked you to keep an eye on me." Dorothy said as Alex stood up and walked behind the wheelchair to push it along.

"Yea, pretty much." Alex said as they came up to the docks.

"You know sometimes I think they worry about me too much, Good morning Tugg." Dorothy said as they came up to Tugg.

"Good morning Dorothy, sweet Oz what happened?" He asked turning an eye to look at the wheelchair.

"The jester, bring us to the clearing Tugg." Dorothy said as she signaled for Alex to push her onto the boat.

"So you built a boat." Alex said admiring it.

"Oh not this part, scarecrow redid it after our first encounter with the jester." Dorothy said

"Ah, nice, and your name is Tugg apparently?" Alex asked walking over to Tugg's head.

"Correct." He said in his usual cheery tone.

"Ah, and what is this clearing that we're heading to?" He asked looking back and forth between Tugg's head and Dorothy.

"It's a place where I like to go and relax, and if worse comes to worse, where I go to cry." Dorothy said her voice trailing off.

"oh." He replied walking over to Dorothy.

They then floated along in silence for few minutes before Alex walked over to the wheel and sat next to it under the overhang and sighed. Dorothy turned the chair around and wheeled it over to him.

"Not sulking are we?" Dorothy asked teasingly.

"No, it's just that, well, I don't know." He said.

"You seem a bit confused my dear boy." Tugg said.

"I am, I think." He said.

"oh." Both Tugg and Dorothy said in unison.

"How long till we reach the clearing Tugg?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not long now." Tugg said.

"That's good." Dorothy said tightening her grasp on the scepter.

"This has been a rather interesting morning so far hasn't it?" Alex said getting up.

"It's almost afternoon now." Tugg said.

"Okay it's been a really interesting day then." Alex said getting up.

"Ah here we are, ready to disembark?" Tugg asked as they came to a halt.

"Yep, also Tugg could you do me a favor?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"That depends." Tugg said knowing what was most likely going to be asked of him.

"Could you head back to the docks, I'm sure someone will be waiting there." Dorothy said.

Tugg sighed and looked back at her.

"Sure thing." He said.

"Thanks." She replied.

Alex then grabbed the back of the wheelchair and pushed it along the deck and off of the boat. Tugg rang his bell and turned around. Dorothy picked up the scepter and tossed it forward. It flew to the middle of the clearing and floated there, glowing brightly. Alex walked over to it and flicked it. It didn't shock him, it did however take on a light red mist in the center.

"Dorothy?" Alex said curiously.

"Yes alex?" Dorothy said wheeling the wheelchair over.

"There's a red mist in the middle of the orb now." Alex said referring to it.

"That's strange." Dorothy said.

"So completely new?" Alex asked.

"What did you do?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Just flicked it." Alex said.

"Hmm, I'll have to ask Glinda if it doesn't fade by the time we get back." Dorothy said.

"Why, did you want to come here?" Alex asked curiously.

"It's a good place to relax, although the other times I was here it was just me and my thoughts most of the time." Dorothy said.

"Ah, so you like to be here alone then." Alex said.

"Yep, now if you wouldn't mind, help me out of this chair." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy you can't walk, the best you can do is sit on the ground." Alex said sounding concerned.

"Yep." Dorothy said holing out her hand.

Alex sighed and took her hand, he then pulled her out of the chair and set her gently on the ground in a sitting position. Dorothy sighed and rubbed her legs hoping it would help. It did not. She then thought about it, what if this turned out to be permanent instead of lasting at the most, three months.

"Dorothy?" Alex asked snapping her from her thoughts.

"Yes alex?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"What were you thinking about?" Alex asked sounding concerned.

"Oh, just worrying about nothing really." Dorothy said sighing.

"Which means you're worrying about something." Alex said.

Dorothy was about to say something when they heard Tugg's bell ring. Dorothy knew that he most likely had someone with him. Dorothy pulled herself back into the wheelchair. Tugg then floated up to the edge of the clearing. Glinda, scarecrow and Aislynn then disembarked and walked over to them.

"I knew someone would be waiting for him." Dorothy said under her breath.

"Dorothy, it will be time for you to go back home soon." Glinda said placing a hand under Dorothy's chin.

"Can't I just stay the night?" Dorothy asked sounding hopeful.

"I'm sorry Dorothy, but at the moment you need to return home, maybe some other time." Glinda said sadly.

"Fine." Dorothy said sighing.

"Glinda we have a question about the scepter by the way." Alex said.

"What about it." Glinda said taking her hand out from under Dorothy's chin and walking over to it.

"It's got a bit of a red haze in the center of it, we were wondering if you knew what it was?" Alex asked curiously.

Glinda examined the orb, her eye fell on the now noticeable red haze, and she chuckled and laughed for a bit.

"What is it Glinda?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"Nothing important, but it doesn't really mean anything either, that's normal." She said taking a quick glance over to Alex and smiling.

"So, just don't worry about then?" Aislynn asked now extremely confused on what was going on.

"Exactly." Glinda said signaling to Tugg.

Tugg rang his bell twice and turned around. Glinda then plucked the scepter from the air and handed it back to Dorothy. She then waved her wand and next thing they all knew they were back in the chambers. Dorothy was immediately pounced upon by Annabella. Toto walked up to her and then barked a few times.

"Glinda, will the wheel chair actually be able to be transported with her?" Donna asked curiously.

"Yes, the problem is that she might get thrown from it when you guys arrive, kind of like how she collapses and falls forward every time she arrives normally." Glinda said.

"Could we send the wheel chair ahead of her so that way should could land in it the way she did when you brought her here this morning?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Yes, but one of you would have to be holding onto it, and even then we would still need to consistently bring the wheelchair here and back every time we need to bring her here." Glinda said sighing.

"Well, um, yea I'm lost, scarecrow any ideas?" Ellie asked.

"Just one, and that would be crutches, ones that she could strap to her wrists to use to keep herself upright." Scarecrow said thinking about it for a minute.

"But she'd still need to be able to hold onto the scepter so that technically takes that out as an option." Ellie said.

"That is true, never mind, forget I mentioned it." Scarecrow said pulling out a small book and reading through it.

"Scarecrow does bring up a good point though." Em said.

"I do? I mean, of course I do." He said standing there looking triumphant.

"How so auntie Em?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He could invent something that would allow you to stand and support yourself comfortably while at the same time allowing you some sort of mobility and still being able to allow you to hold the scepter." Em said smiling, taking off her glasses and cleaning them with her shirt.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, maybe me and wiser could come up with a design, we'll get back to you on that." Scarecrow replied running to the back of the chambers and behind a curtain.

"Oh boy, here we go again." Lion said as all of a sudden a large array of loud noises started emitting from behind the curtain.

"So this happens often then?" Alex asked walking over to Dorothy.

"It would seem so, I've only been back there once." Dorothy said.

Annabella looked up at Dorothy quizzically, having been silent the entire time this was surprising to everyone.

"What back there?" Annabella asked.

"It's scarecrow's workshop." Dorothy said.

"Ooohhh." She said making everyone laugh.

"Well, Dorothy I could transport you back to the couch you were on and then send the wheelchair with someone." Glinda said.

"I guess that could work, let me know if there's any development in scarecrow's plan, Alex would you mind taking Annabella?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure." He replied picking her up.

Dorothy then tightened her grasp on the scepter which now began to glow brightly again. She then felt herself lurch forward and saw the color's whizzing by her. She then began to feel dizzy and sick, she then felt herself come down on the couch. She bounced a bit and then came to a complete halt. She caught her breath and looked around. She was surprised to see Officer Grey looking at her.

"Ah Dorothy, the maids told me you got changed back, where are the others?" He asked curiously.

Alex then appeared next to Dorothy carrying the wheelchair. Dorothy set the scepter down and climbed into it. She then looked back at Officer Grey.

"They'll be coming shortly, what brings you here by the way?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Your aunt and uncle weren't at home, are they alright?" Officer grey asked.

"They're fine, what happened?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned

"Dorothy, your farm house was broken into earlier this morning, a neighbor reported someone running from the farmhouse and into the cornfield, we went to investigate and found the house ransacked." He said.

Dorothy gasped in concern, her aunt and uncle then ran into the room followed by Toto Aislynn and Ellie. Officer grey looked at them and explained to them what he had just told Dorothy.

"Did it look like anything was stolen?" Em asked really concerned.

"No, it looked like all your valuables were intact, your jewelry box, was still locked, the only thing that looked like it had really been searched was Dorothy's room." He said.

"I think I know who did it then." Dorothy said looking like she was going to cry.

"The jester?" Officer grey asked curiously.

"Yes, did you see anything odd, was anything out of the ordinary beside most likely looking like it had been blown up?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Let me think, ah yes, we noticed that there was a lot of your hair ribbons on the floor." Officer grey said.

"How many?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"That's the strange thing, thirty-five if you don't count the one that your keys are tied to." He said.

"So, I'm short one hair ribbon, what would the jester want a hair ribbon for?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Who knows?" Ellie said shrugging.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale, I would like you to return to the farmhouse with me so that we can make sure all valuables are accounted for." Officer grey said.

Em and henry both nodded. They then walked over to Dorothy and gave her a quick hug before walking out with officer grey.

"Okay, I correct my previous statement, this has been a very interesting day." Alex said catching his breath.

**So with this current plot development, why would the jester need one of Dorothy's hair ribbons? Is it for some sort of spell, or is there something more sinister in store? Nah just joking its most likely for a spell. But what kind of spell? And what is that red haze that appeared in the scepter? Not all of the questions will definitely be answered in the next chapter.**


	35. The next war council

**Disclaimer well you get it**

_The diggs residence the next day._

Dorothy had spent most of the rest of the previous day worrying about whatever it was the jester was planning, she didn't know what he was going to gain from his current part of his plan, but knowing the jester he now had some sort of plan. It was now nine o'clock of the following day and she was in the backyard of the Diggs residence with Aislynn, Ellie, Alex and Annabella, they took turns throwing a ball for Toto to fetch. He hadn't said much at all since they found out the jester had ransacked their house. Ellie then looked at Dorothy as Toto walked up to them.

"Dorothy, what is that red smoke in the middle of the scepter?" Ellie asked noticing it.

"Glinda said not to worry about it so we definitely shouldn't about it not to mention she literally laughed at it so she knows something that we don't and she finds it funny." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, I'll just ask my sister about it later." She said.

"Girls!" Came the voice of jenny from the house.

"Don't forget me!" Alex shouted.

"Girls and Alex!" Jenny shouted.

"What?" Aislynn shouted.

"Come inside please!" Jenny shouted.

"I wonder what's wrong." Aislynn asked curiously.

"Maybe Donna and Kelly have found something." Alex said pushing Dorothy back towards the house.

"Right, that could be it." Ellie said.

"Come on Annabella." Aislynn said taking Annabella's hand and leading her along.

Toto followed closely behind them with the ball in his mouth, he wanted to bark but he didn't want to drop the ball. Soon they were all back in the house and walking towards the parlor. It was then that Jenny walked out of the parlor.

"Good, there you guys are, Alex, your parents called, they've been informed on what's been happening and should be back to get you and Annabella tomorrow, they are also happy that Annabella can walk now, Donna and Kelly are in the parlor with Mr. Alistair, officer grey, and your aunt and uncle." Jenny said.

Dorothy smiled as Alex pushed her into the parlor. Alex pushed her over to her aunt and uncle so that they could hug her.

"Dorothy, we checked the house, the only thing that seems to be missing is that one hair ribbon, oh and some fruit but that wasn't really surprising." Em said embracing Dorothy.

"Dorothy, it's good to see that you're back to normal again." Mr. Alistair said happily.

"It's great to be back to normal, I mean I can't walk at the moment but that's just a minor inconvenience." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Right, well, I'll be taking Donna and Kelly home tonight, their parents will be back in town tomorrow with some more stuff, and hopefully this will be their last trip till the New Year." Mr. Alistair said.

"That's good, it will be nice to finally see them for once." Alex said sighing.

"Yes, my sisters were always wanderers when they were younger, luckily your mother decided to settle down and open a business with your father after they had you." Mr. Alistair said.

"Yea, I wouldn't want to be spending all my time with my cousins" Alex said.

"You already go to school with us, what more could you possibly want?" Donna asked teasingly.

"Donna." Dorothy said looking at her.

"Yes Dorothy?" Donna replied.

"Shut up." She said chuckling.

"Dorothy Gale!" Auntie Em said gasping in surprise.

"Auntie Em, it's all in fun you know that." Dorothy said.

"Yes, well, right." She said trailing off.

Dorothy was about to say something when the scepter began to glow brightly, Dorothy tightened her grasp on the scepter, Alex then noticed this as well and grabbed on to the scepter. Dorothy then felt herself lurch forward, it wasn't long before she began to feel dizzy and sick, and she then felt herself land on the throne in the chambers. Alex appeared in front of her with the wheel chair. Dorothy carefully set the scepter down next to her.

"Good morning Glinda." Dorothy said as Glinda walked up to them.

"Good morning Dorothy, Alex." Glinda said looking over to him and nodding.

Alex brought the wheel chair over to the throne and Glinda helped Dorothy into the chair. She then took the wheel chair from Alex. She then wheeled it towards the door of the chambers.

"Glinda where are we going?" Dorothy asked signaling for Alex to follow.

Alex nodded and grabbed the scepter. He then ran after Dorothy and Glinda.

"We're heading to the banquet hall." Glinda said as they got to the closest dining hall.

Glinda waved her hand and the doors opened. Glinda then pushed the wheelchair into the banquet hall. Dorothy was immediately greeted by the sight of Scarecrow, Tin man, Lion, Marshal Mallow, China princess, wiser, Brianna, Caitlyn and Chrissy, and to her surprise, The Nome King.

"Dorothy!" Chrissy and Caitlyn exclaimed in shock.

"Hello Chrissy, hello Caitlyn, Good morning your majesty." Dorothy said looking at the Nome King.

"Ah Dorothy gale, it's good to see you finally back to normal, and Alex, it's a pleasure to see you again." The Nome King said puffing some smoke rings from his pipe.

"Pleasure to see you as well your majesty." Alex said bowing.

Dorothy held out her hand and the scepter flew out of Alex's grasp and into hers. Glinda smiled and walked over to her seat at the table. Alex walked over and took the empty seat next to Dorothy.

"Well, let this war council come to order, Dorothy we know the jester was once more spotted in Kansas and apparently stole one of your hair ribbons." Glinda said.

"Correct." Dorothy said.

"Do you have any guesses as to why?" Glinda asked curiously.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout._

"_No Glinda, I don't" _Dorothy said, as her voice emerged from the crystal ball.

"Ah Dorothy, if only you knew." The jester said ringing a small silver bell.

A flying monkey then ran in carrying a lawn gnome, one of the ones he had stolen from the Teaks. He then walked over to a large cauldron filled with a strange, glittering, emerald green powder. He took a pinch of it and threw it over the lawn gnome. He then muttered something under his breath. A few seconds later the lawn gnome began to twitch and move.

"It works, sweet Oz it works!" he said doing some sort of jig around it.

"Oi would you mind not shouting?" the gnome asked covering his ears.

"Oh shut up." he said flicking the wand causing the gnome to be doused with a liquid from a small bottle next to the cauldron.

The gnome went stiff and became porcelain again, the jester laughed and pulled out the hair ribbon. This he placed in a small glass bottle labeled _"the final ingredient" _he then chuckled and started pouring liquids in a certain order into the cauldron on top of the powder.

"_Glinda do you think that he would try that?"_ scarecrow asked.

"_What place a spell over the entire land? I don't know, possibly" _Glinda said sounding a bit worried.

"Oh don't worry my sweet Glinda, I wouldn't attack all of Oz at once, besides I'm not done yet, my secret weapon is not yet done." He said chuckling.

"_But what about munchkin land?" _Dorothy asked curiously.

"_Still in pretty poor condition, Alison is currently watching it in my crystal ball." _Glinda said.

"And yet I have not expanded my spell yet, not right now anyways, but soon the first half of my master plan will be complete." He said stirring the cauldron as the liquids began to bubble and change colors on its own.

"_Glinda, what are you going to do if the spell does expand out of munchkin land?" _Dorothy asked sounding concerned.

"_Dorothy, I have a plan, but I'm not going to tell you it because you'd act like my sister if you found out." _Glinda said.

"Ah yes, that spell she is only to use once, the spell from the Grimmerie." He said chuckling and adding more bottles of liquid.

"_Dorothy I think it would be best if you didn't ask any more questions." _Alex advised.

"Ah yes, you, the one who has become a thorn in my side since the girls birthday." He said walking away from the cauldron.

"_Glinda, I command you as an Ally and as a king, to reveal what you are going to do!" _The Nome king shouted slamming a fist on the table.

"Ah Roquat you need to control your temper." He said cackling wickedly.

_Meanwhile back in the banquet hall of the emerald city._

Glinda had realized she couldn't win the argument and then went to get the Grimmerie. Dorothy looked at the Nome King who looked worried at this point.

"Oz help her if she pulls the same stunt that her aunt did all those years ago." He said in a worried tone.

"Well, here it is." Glinda said walking in with a large old looking leather bound book.

"Glinda! You cannot use spells from the Grimmerie you know it's completely forbidden!" the Nome king yelled.

Glinda looked at him, she then opened the book and placed it on the table.

"My aunt used this spell so many years ago to protect the land of Oz in turn she lost her life, using the spell three times has proven fatal, no one has survived the third time, I have no used it yet once, the scarecrow said I am only allowed to use it if it comes down to it but then I am forbidden to use it ever again" Glinda said.

"Glinda, your parents would never approve of you doing something this stupid." Caitlyn said worriedly.

"I know, I know, that's why I didn't tell you guys, and I forbid any of you to speak a word of this until I've actually used the spell." Glinda said sternly.

"understood." Dorothy said.

"Now, now that that's out of the way, we need to start coming up with a battle plan." Glinda said shutting the Grimmerie and placing it in a satchel she was now carrying with her.

"Glinda, we do not need a battle plan, not yet anyways." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, let's face it, this is going to lead to all-out war, you being turned into a cat was just a warning shot." The china princess said.

"Princess, forgive me for saying this, all of you forgive me for saying this but I won't let this turn into all-out war, not while I'm still breathing." Dorothy said sternly.

"Dorothy, don't say stuff like that, we won't let you risk your life in this matter." Scarecrow said in a concerned tone.

"And I don't want you guys risking your lives for me." Dorothy said angrily.

"Dorothy, please just listen, we…" Glinda said.

"Alex, help me stand up please." Dorothy said looking at Alex.

Alex didn't even bother to question it he just helped her up and get her balance. She then grasped the scepter.

"Dorothy what are you doing?" Chrissy asked nervously.

"To my bedroom FLY!" Dorothy shouted.

The scepter took off instantly. She was able to pull herself onto just in time as it flew out of the room and to her room in the emerald city. She watched as everything went past her in a blur. Soon the scepter came to a gradual halt inside her room, right over the bed. Dorothy then flipped off the scepter. Landing on the bed she took the scepter and waved it in the direction of the door causing it to slam shut and lock. She then flipped over onto her chest and cried into a pillow. It was a few minutes before she heard a knock on the door.

"Dorothy, could you please let alex and me in?" Came the voice of Ellie.

Dorothy sniffed and waved the scepter in the direction of the door. It unlocked and opened allowing Ellie and Alex to walk in along with the wheelchair, and Annabella and Aislynn. Ellie walked over embraced Dorothy the door then slammed shut and locked again.

"What's wrong now?" Ellie asked curiously.

"All you guys ever talk about is going into all-out war because of this, but I don't want that to happen." Dorothy said through tears.

"Dorothy we don't want it to come to that but you know it may." Ellie said signaling for the others to come over.

Annabella ran over and climbed onto the bed trying to see Dorothy's face.

"Dorothy upset?" Annabella asked.

"Yes, Dorothy upset." Dorothy said turning her face so that she wouldn't have to make eye contact with anyone.

"Dorothy, no one ever wants to go to war, and no one ever wants to be the reason people go to war, but sometimes things happen." Alex said going to the other side of the bed so that he could make eye contact with Dorothy.

Dorothy's eyes met with Alex's for a moment. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. She then smiled, Alex smiled back and chuckled.

"Dorothy still upset?" Annabella asked curiously.

Dorothy giggled and looked up. She flipped over and reached out a hand. Alex took it and pulled her up into a sitting position. Dorothy then took Annabella in her arms.

"No Annabella, I'm not that upset anymore." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, come on, Glinda recommended that we return back to Ace's house." Ellie said placing a hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

"Right, yea, let's go back." Dorothy said taking the scepter and waving it in the direction of the door.

The door unlocked and swung open. She looked at Alex who ran back over to the wheel chair. Dorothy turned just in time to see Alex vanish. Dorothy then handed Annabella off to Ellie who took her and then grabbed aislynn's hand. Dorothy then grasped onto the scepter which glowed brightly. Dorothy then felt herself lurch forward. The usual sensation ensued, she then dropped down into the wheelchair.

**Well that was a bit of a doozy wasn't it? Have you figured it out yet?**


	36. Leaving the manor

**Disclaimer – you know.**

That day at the Diggs residence had gone by rather quickly for all of them. It seemed to them that the next day came far too quickly. It was almost time for Mr. and Mrs. Teak to come and pick up Alex and Annabella. Dorothy was in the parlor with Alex enjoying a cup of tea, Dorothy sighed and looked at her boots that were on the couch next to Alex.

"So, returning back home." Alex said looking out the window behind him.

"Yep." Dorothy said putting down her cup and grabbing the scepter.

"I think we should go to Donna's after we get back." Alex said taking a sip of tea.

"Alex I'm pretty sure I'm still being punished." Dorothy said sadly.

"Oh, right, yeah." Alex said scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry." She said wheeling her wheel chair over to him.

"Dorothy, Alex?" Came the sound of Auntie Em from outside the parlor.

"We're in here auntie Em!" Dorothy called.

Toto walked into the room followed by auntie Em, she walked over to Dorothy.

"We'll be leaving as soon as the teaks arrive, are you packed Alex?" Em asked curiously.

"Yes Mrs. Gale, I was wondering, could Dorothy come with us?" Alex asked curiously.

Em thought about this for a minute, she then took off her glasses, breathed on the lenses, and wiped it on her shirt. She then sighed a bit.

"I'll have to talk to henry about that, and you'll have to talk to your mom and dad about it, and if neither henry nor your parents object then I guess it will be alright." Em said thinking about it.

"Fair enough." He said.

"Anyways, I've helped Ellie and Aislynn with their stuff since you can't really go upstairs, now I'm heading back upstairs to help Ellie with Annabella's things." Em said kissing Dorothy on the cheek and walking out.

"Thanks Auntie Em." Dorothy said sounding a bit saddened.

"When do you think you'll be able to walk again?" Toto asked curiously.

"At most, or at least according to Glinda, at most three months." Dorothy said sighing.

"He wondering when you're going to be able to walk again?" Alex asked.

"Yep." Dorothy said nodding.

"Yeah well, I'm going to go upstairs and see if your aunt needs help with Annabella." Alex said getting up.

"Kay." Dorothy said smiling weakly at him.

"Don't go anywhere." He said causing both of them to laugh.

"Hey don't tease me like that." Dorothy responded giggling loudly.

"Sorry." He said teasingly as he walked out.

Dorothy took a deep breath and wheeled back over to her cup of tea. Jessica came into the room whistling and dusting, her eyes fell on Dorothy, and she stopped whistling and looked at her.

"Morning Dorothy, enjoying your tea?" She asked.

"Yea, Jessica?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes Dorothy?" Jessica asked halting her dusting.

"Is there any more tea?" She asked.

"I think the rest of the pot is in the kitchen, I can go grab it if you'd like." She offered.

"Please, this is actually some really good tea." She said finishing off her cup.

"Sure dear, be right back." She said running out.

As Jessica left Alex walked back in with Annabella who was struggling to carry her things. Dorothy laughed and looked at Alex smiling.

"Don't look at me, she insisted that she could do it herself." Alex said looking down at her.

Dorothy chuckled as Jessica walked back into the room, saw Annabella, chucked, and walked over to Dorothy and refilled her tea cup.

"Thanks Jess." Dorothy said as Jessica set the tea pot down on the table.

"No problem, so you guys will be leaving soon." Jessica said returning to her dusting.

"Yes." Alex said.

"You know, it's funny, a lot of times Jenny and I just stay here and keep the house kept, but then you guys turn up and actually give us something to do." Jessica said smiling a bit.

"Why don't you guys drop by every once and awhile?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"What you mean leave the house for something other than business or for ace?" Jessica asked sounding concerned.

"Yea sure why not? I mean it's better than staying cooped up in this manor the entire day." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, jenny and I hardly leave the house together, someone has to stay here to do the house keeping." Jessica said returning to her dusting.

"Well it's an open invitation should you ever decide to take it." Dorothy said taking a sip of tea.

Alex smiled and walked over to his cup of tea. He picked it up and downed it, he then placed it next to the tea pot and looked out the window. He smiled and chuckled.

"My parents are here." He said as a knock came on the door.

Jessica ran out of the parlor to open the door. Dorothy wheeled herself over to the parlor door. Finishing her tea and leaving it on a side table. She then wheeled out of the parlor with Annabella and Alex following. As they saw Jessica opened the door, Annabella put down her bag and ran to the door. Mr. and Mrs. Teak had hardly walked into the house before Annabella almost tackled them down. Mrs. Teak chuckled and then she saw Dorothy.

"Ah, hello Dorothy, good to see you aren't a cat anymore." Mrs. Teak said sighing in relief.

"Thanks Mrs. Teak, I mean I can't walk but yea, normal." She said chuckling.

Mrs. Teak was about to say something when Alex walked over and hugged her tightly. He then did the same with his father who gasped in surprise.

"Alex what's gotten into you!?" Mr. Teak gasped out.

"Cant a son show his parents some affection every now and again?" Alex asked.

Mr. Teak looked at his son, coughed, and embraced his son tightly.

"Alecks?" Annabella asked.

"Yes?" Alex asked curiously.

"You going to be better?" Annabella asked.

"How do you mean?" Both Dorothy and Alex asked curiously.

"You not going to be wicked?" Annabella asked.

"Ah, using my own words against me, well yes Annabella, yes." Alex said chuckling.

"Good." She said.

Dorothy was about to say something when they all heard the sound of people running down the stairs. Dorothy turned her wheelchair around to see Aislynn and Ellie walking down the stairs with their things. Her aunt and uncle were following closely behind.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Teak." Henry said.

"Hello henry, huh, yes Alex?" Mr. Teak said as Alex whispered something into his ear, "No I wouldn't object, um honey would you object to having Dorothy come with us? What? Oh apparently your sister should be back in town today as well." He said as Alex whispered into his ear.

"I don't object to it either" Mrs. Teak and henry said at the same time.

"Well that's good, anyways, Dorothy, when you get home, we'll have to find something for you to do around the house, since you can't really leave the chair." Em said walking over.

"Mrs. Gale, aren't you concerned that this is Alex's family were talking to?" Ellie asked curiously, sounding concerned.

"Why should I? I've know The Teaks and the Alistair family my entire life, and I'm not going to stop trusting them because one of their descendants is a bit of a bully." Em said looking over at Ellie with a stern look

"Will they be able to get the wheelchair in their truck?" Aislynn asked.

"We have enough room to fit two or three rocking chairs." Mr. Teak said.

"Well then, it's settled." Em said.

Ellie sighed in defeat. Dorothy turned her wheelchair towards Ellie and rolled over to her and hugged her tightly. She then wheeled back over to the Teaks and smiled.

"So, ready to go?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Oh, no one second." Alex said running back into the parlor.

"Wonder what he forgot?" Ellie asked.

Alex emerged a few seconds later carrying Dorothy's boots with him. He walked over and handed them to Dorothy.

"Wouldn't want to forget these would we?" Alex asked teasingly.

"Thanks alex, no I wouldn't want to forget these." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Well, now we're good to go." Alex said walking around Dorothy's wheelchair and pushing it past his parents.

As soon as they were at the truck Alex helped Dorothy out of the chair and helped her get her balance so that Mr. Teak could load the chair into the back of the truck. Alex with the help of his father then helped Dorothy get into the front passenger seat of the truck where Mrs. Teak normally would sit.

"Are you sure you don't mind sitting in the back with your kids Mrs. Teak?" Dorothy asked.

"It's quite alright dear, better me than you." She said smiling.

"Right, Alex would you mind holding these?" Dorothy asked referring to her boots.

"Pass them back." Alex replied.

As Dorothy did this Mr. Teak got into the driver's seat, he was about to start the car when something caught his eye.

"It seems that Toto wants to come as well." He said as Mr. Gale ran up to the truck.

"You guys don't mind if Toto tags along do you?" Henry asked picking Toto up.

Mr. Teak smiled and took Toto from Mr. Gale and placed him on Dorothy's lap. Toto barked and licked Dorothy on the cheek, making her giggle. Dorothy then tightened her grip on the scepter which was now glowing dimly. Soon they were off on the road back to town, Dorothy spent most of the time in silence, looking out the window at the passing landscape. It was a beautiful morning. It wasn't until they were close to the town before Alex broke the silence.

"You've been unusually quiet Dorothy, is something wrong?" Alex asked curiously.

Dorothy shook her head.

"No nothing's wrong, but what am I supposed to say?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Right, well it's you, so I'm sure you could think of something." Alex said.

"Alex, be nice." Mrs. Teak said sternly.

"It's alright Mrs. Teak, Alex is right." Dorothy said looking down at Toto who was looking up at her, his head tilted sideways.

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of Annabella.

"Yes Annabella?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"What are we talking about?" Annabella asked curiously.

"We're talking about why I wasn't talking." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Oh, why?" She asked.

"I don't know really." Dorothy said as they crossed over the town line.

"So, should we head home first or should we go see your sister?" Mr. Teak asked pulling over and looking back at his wife.

"Definitely see my sister first." Mrs. Teak said smiling.

"Right, do you think they'll be too busy unpacking to see us?" Mr. Teak asked.

"I shouldn't think so, Fenny isn't one to put work first family second." Mrs. Teak said smiling.

"Well then." Mr. Teak said driving off again.

"It's not often that any of us really ever see Mr. and Mrs. Maitland around isn't it?" Dorothy asked.

"No, my sister has a habit of traveling to buy things in bulk, her husband has the same habit, and luckily they mostly stay in Kansas but spend more time in hotels than they do with their own kids." Mrs. Teak said sighing.

"Haven't you ever tried to get aunt Fenny to settle down like you and Dad did? Or like Uncle Alexander and His wife?" Alex asked curiously.

"No, they never stick around long enough, the most we ever really get to see of them is when they stay home during the few months before the New Year." Mrs. Teak said sighing again.

"Haven't you ever thought about the affect it's had on Donna and Kelly though?" Alex asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

"When did you start showing concern for your family?" Mr. Teak asked sounding a bit reluctant to believe what was going on.

"When I found love, for someone I didn't even realize I actually liked." He said.

"Oh really? Love for who?" He asked still sounding reluctant.

Alex sat there, silently, his mother chuckled. Mr. Teak looked at his wife with astonishment, he didn't like not knowing what was going on. It was then that it struck him like a ton of lead bricks.

"So you get it now?" Alex asked teasingly.

"Yes, son, ah here we are, the Maitland residence." Mr. Teak said as they pulled up to a house with a rather large moving truck in the driveway.

"Well they're definitely home." Mrs. Teak said chuckling.

Mr. Teak and Alex were the first out of the truck. Alex opened up the back and pulled out the wheel chair. Mr. Teak went over to the passenger door and opened it, allowing for Toto to jump out. As soon as Toto was off of Dorothy's lap Mr. Teak helped Dorothy out of the seat and helped her into the wheelchair. Alex then handed Dorothy her boots and pushed her to the door of the house just as Mr. Maitland walked out. He saw Alex and Dorothy and gasped. He turned his head and called for his wife who ran out and gasped as well, Donna and Kelly followed shortly after.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Maitland." Dorothy said as Alex pushed the wheel chair closer.

"Good morning Dorothy, what in heaven's name happened to you?" Mrs. Maitland asked sounding concerned.

"It's a rather long story, you should have Donna tell you it at some point." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Right, anyways, Alex, would you mind asking your parents if they would like to go out to dinner with me and Fenny tonight?" Mr. Maitland asked curiously.

Mr. Maitland was a rather tall and skinny man, he had short reddish-grey colored hair, and he was extremely pale. He had a strict, yet caring face, which right now was glaring at Alex.

"Sure, but what are me and Annabella supposed to do if they accept? It's not like we can really get a sitter at such short notice." Alex said.

"Why not use Dorothy?" Came the voice of auntie Em and uncle henry from behind them.

"Oh Mr. and Mrs. Gale, what brings you here?" Mrs. Maitland asked walking over to them

"Nothing much Fen, just checking up on you guys." Em said smiling.

"Ah Emily, friends till the end isn't it?" Mrs. Maitland asked curiously, chuckling at the same time.

Mrs. Maitland looked a lot like a more grown up version of Donna and Kelly, the difference was that she had dark blonde hair. Her face too held the look of strict and caring at the same time, which was noticeable when she and Dorothy's Aunt joined in an embrace between old friends.

"How's traveling and buying things in bulk?" EM asked.

"Pretty good, how's running the farm?" Mrs. Maitland asked.

"It's been terrific." Em said looking at her husband who was now talking with Mr. and Mrs. Teak as well as alex who had slipped away to talk to his parents about Mr. Maitland's request.

"Auntie Em?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes Dorothy?" Em replied.

"Where are Ellie and Aislynn?" Dorothy asked realizing they weren't with them.

"They're you know, out and about." Em said winking.

"Oh, so, I won't be seeing them till this afternoon most likely?" Dorothy asked.

"Yep, anyways, your uncle and I were thinking, we think that given the recent turn of events, you've been punished enough." Em said smiling.

"So, I'm no longer confined to the farm?" Dorothy asked excitedly.

"That is correct." Em said as Toto ran up and barked.

"Em, I'm confused, what's going on?" Mrs. Maitland asked as Alex walked back over.

"It's a long story Fen, have Donna explain it to you, she was there for a good majority of it." Em said referring to Donna and Kelly who were now sitting on the porch.

"Thanks auntie Em, Donna, Kelly?" Dorothy shouted to her friends, they immediately got up and ran over.

"Yes?" they both asked in unison, they then looked at each other and laughed.

"Typical sisters." Alex said scoffing.

"Right, Mr. and Mrs. Maitland, you don't mind if Donna comes with me and Alex to the park do you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not at all, just you two be home before supper." Mr. Maitland said looking down at his children.

"Great, come on Alex, let's grab Annabella if your parents will let us." Dorothy said as Alex pushed her over to his parents.

"Ah, yes, Dorothy, we were wondering, could you come over to our house for five o'clock?" Mr. Teak asked curiously.

"Sure thing, how long will you guys be out for?" Dorothy asked curiously

"Who knows, but you're free to stay the night if it comes down to it, because your aunt and uncle will be joining us with my sister's family for dinner tonight." Mrs. Teak said happily.

"Fair enough, do you mind if we take Annabella to the park with us?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not at all, just have someone warn us if you decide you're going to be running off to Oz or something like that." Mr. Teak said before his wife could even open her mouth, making them all laugh.

"Park?" Annabella asked climbing out of the car and running over to them.

"Yes Annabella, we're going to the park." Dorothy said smiling.

"Yay!" Annabella said excitedly.

Toto then ran over and barked, he then jumped up on Dorothy's lap ready to go. Alex chuckled and pushed Dorothy along towards the park. Donna picked Annabella up and carried her along the way as she and Kelly followed closely behind. The Maitland residence was only about half a mile away from the park that Dorothy had taken Ellie and Aislynn to. It wasn't really that long before they got there. When they arrived Donna set Annabella on the ground and she ran to a nearby tree. Picking up a small fallen branch, she walked over to Toto and waved it in front of him. He barked and Annabella threw it as hard as she could. It went about two feet but Toto jumped off of Dorothy's lap and chased it anyways. He came back a few seconds later and dropped it at Alex's feet. He then picked it up and lobbed it as far as he could. Toto chased after it and after a few minutes was running back towards them with the stick in his mouth. It was then that Dorothy began to wonder how Aislynn and Ellie were doing.

_Meanwhile in the emerald city library._

Aislynn had spent the last five minutes trying to get as many books as she could carry into her arms. She was walking back to the center of the library to sit down and read them when she walked into the scarecrow causing both of them to fall backwards and the books to fall into a mess on the floor, they both chuckled for a minute before ace started picking up all the books.

"Sorry ace, I didn't see you, here let me help you." He said as he picked up some of the books and looked at the titles.

"It's alright scarecrow, it was my fault, I had so many books and I couldn't see where I was going." Aislynn said nervously.

"I see you've made a nice selection in books." The scarecrow said chuckling.

Aislynn smiled and finished picking up the rest of the books. She and the scarecrow then walked to the center of the library and set them down on the table. The scarecrow then sat down in one of the chairs and grabbed one of the books and began reading. Aislynn giggled and walked over to the scarecrow and kissed him on the cheek. He dropped the book and blushed. Aislynn giggled and blushed as well.

"What was that one for?" Scarecrow asked chuckling.

"It's my thank you." Aislynn said sitting down in the chair next to him.

"Awe, thanks Aislynn." Scarecrow said ruffling her hair.

"Hey." She said giggling.

"That's, my, your welcome." He said chuckling.

"No it's not, anyways what Ellie is up to?" She asked.

"She's with her sister, trying to see if there's any way they can relieve Dorothy of her wheel chair." scarecrow said picking up the book and going back to reading it.

Aislynn read over scarecrow's shoulder in silence for a few minutes trying to keep up with his reading speed. She then thought of something.

"Scarecrow?" Aislynn asked.

"Yes Aislynn?" Scarecrow replied.

"Was my grandfather a good man?" Aislynn asked curiously.

Scarecrow set down his book at Aislynn. He then got up and walked around the chair so he could be face to face with Aislynn. He then knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed.

"No ace, he wasn't a good man, he was a great man, a wonderful man, a bit mischievous if you ask me but he was a great person, I wish I had gotten a chance to know him better though." Scarecrow said sighing.

"I mean was he good or did he rule over Oz with an iron fist?" Aislynn asked.

"He was a wonderful leader, he was the only reason why the witches didn't take over the emerald city." Scarecrow said smiling then he thought of something, "Come on Aislynn, let me show you something." He added taking her hand and leading her out of the library.

They walked quickly and quietly till they were back at the throne room. The scarecrow let go of aislynn's hand and ran over to the throne.

"What did you want to show me scarecrow?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Some of your grandfather's inventions." He said walking behind a curtain not far from the throne.

Aislynn looked at the curtain and heard the sound of switches being thrown, the throne was the surrounded by green smoke and the scarecrows face appeared in it. Aislynn giggled and almost fell over laughing.

"That's neat." She said regaining her composure.

"Yea it is." He said as his voice emerged from the throne.

"Oh wow, and all of this is yours?" She asked amazed as the smoke cleared.

"Technically it's yours Aislynn, since It belonged to your grandfather." He said.

"Did my grandfather leave a lot of stuff?" Aislynn asked.

"Yes, he did, he didn't take much with him when he returned to your world." Scarecrow said.

"That's nice, I'll have to ask you about it some time." Aislynn said walking over to the scarecrow and hugging him tightly.

"Aislynn!?" came the voice of Ellie.

"In here Ellie!" Aislynn called.

Ellie and Glinda walked in a few seconds later. Glinda walked over to them and placed a hand under aislynn's chin.

"I see scarecrow has been showing you, your grandfather's inventions, I hope that you have as much ingenuity as he did." She said kissing Aislynn on the forehead.

"I won't know until I try, did you guys find anything?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"No." Ellie said sadly.

"But let's not lose hope, I'm sure if we try we can find something." Glinda said

"Glinda you said magic cannot cure something like that." Ellie said walking over to her sister.

"Yes I did, but I'm sure there's something that I've been missing." Glinda said.

"Glinda, you said…" Ellie started to say before she was cut off.

"I know what I said, but I can't stand to see Dorothy in such poor condition." Glinda said.

"Glinda, let's just face it, we're just going to have to wait it out." Scarecrow said sadly.

Glinda looked at scarecrow for a second and sighed in defeat.

"I know, but, oh never mind." She said.

"Glinda, would it be possible for Dorothy to learn how to walk again?" Ellie asked.

"How do you mean?" Glinda asked.

"I mean, like Annabella, could you train her how to walk again?" Ellie asked.

"That's the thing Ellie, I don't know, I mean, she can feel her legs, she just can't move them, I don't even know if it would be possible." Glinda said sadly.

"Technically it would be." Came the voice of the Nome King as he appeared in front of them.

"How so Roquat?" Glinda asked curiously.

"She could technically could be taught how to walk again, it would take her a lot of will power to do so, but it could be done." He said puffing smoke rings from his pipe.

"But that would drain all her energy, it would tax her body to use that much will power." Glinda said worriedly.

"Glinda, the Nome king has a point though." Alison said walking into the room with her nose in her book.

"Alison I know, but it would possibly put her in a worse condition." Glinda said.

"Glinda, as long as she has the scepter with her it will be slightly easier." Alison said shutting her book and placing it in her pocket.

"Correct Ms. Alison." The Nome king said.

"Well then, tomorrow we'll start." Glinda said sighing in defeat.

"Well then, I take my leave." The Nome king said vanishing.

"Thanks." Glinda said.

"Let's go see what Dorothy is up to." Aislynn said running over to the crystal ball.

_Meanwhile at the park._

Dorothy, Alex, Annabella, Donna and Kelly spent their time taking turns throwing the stick for Toto fetch, Annabella also spent some time running around chasing after Toto. It was about one in the afternoon when they decided to relax for a few minutes to let Toto rest. Dorothy rolled herself over to a nearby tree and parked her chair under it. Alex, Donna, Kelly and Annabella followed after.

"Dorothy?" Donna asked curiously.

"Yes donna?" Dorothy said looking up at the clouds.

"Do you think you'll be able to walk again soon?" Donna asked curiously.

"I hope so, still a lot of time though." Dorothy said.

"Oh." Donna said looking up at the clouds as well.

"Oh hello Dorothy." came the voice of Mrs. Pryce, she was accompanied by her husband who had regained his color and didn't seem as jittery anymore.

"Hello Mrs. Pryce, Hello Mr. Pryce, you're looking better." Dorothy said.

"I feel better as well, thanks, nice to see you back to normal again." He replied.

"I've heard that a lot over the last few days, the only difference is that I'm not able to walk at the moment." Dorothy said.

"Oh you poor thing, and there's nothing any of your friends can do?" Mrs. Pryce asked concerned

"Not that they know of." Dorothy said sadly.

"Oh, well then, it's nice seeing you again, we must be off." Mrs. Pryce said leading her husband away.

"Alright, see you later." She said.

"They seem like a great couple." Donna said.

"I know." Dorothy said.

Alex was about to say something when an aluminum can hit him on the back of the head. They all turned around to see some of Alex's cronies pointing and laughing.

"Hey Alex, what you doing with the misfit in the wheelchair!?" One of them asked laughing.

Dorothy got a look of fire on her face. She was angry at this. She herself was then hit in the head with a small pebble shot from a slingshot. The scepter then sprung to life and was about to fly over to the boys before Dorothy grabbed it. She rolled her wheel chair quickly over to them and the boys grew silent quickly when they realized it was Dorothy. It was about five seconds before one of the cronies broke the silence.

"Ha, little miss goody two-shoes is stuck in a wheel chair, what did you do sprain your ankle?" He asked taking a piece of paper from his pocket and throwing it at her.

"Leave her alone!" Came the voice of a man that Dorothy didn't recognize.

Ellie and Aislynn appeared behind the boys and pushed through them as the source of the voice approached.

"Doctor Foreman?" Aislynn gasped in surprise.

"Hello ace, you look well, my condolences by the way." He said walking into Dorothy's range of view.

Doctor Foreman was a tall man, maybe a few inches taller than her uncle, he looked like an old man, but he walked like he was in his twenties, his face, like was that of a kind man, his hair was a good length, and curly, funnily however he looked like he was dressed to go to a fancy party, with a maroon colored dress jacket covering a white shirt and a large black bowtie, black dress pants that had no creases or wrinkles, and black, nicely polished dress shoes. His electric blue eyes glared angrily down at the group of boys, who shrunk back in intimidation then ran away as quickly as possible.

"That takes care of them." Ellie said watching them run away.

"Yes, I can't stand to see people doing that, you must be Dorothy gale." Doctor Foreman said walking over to Dorothy and offering a hand.

"Yes, how did you know?" Dorothy said taking the hand and shaking it.

"I knew who you were the moment I saw you, it's been a long time." He said.

"How do you mean?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Doctor Foreman!?" came the voice of Dorothy's uncle as he walked up behind them.

"Ah, Henry how wonderful it is to finally see you again." Doctor foreman said walking over to henry and shaking his hand.

Dorothy looked closely at Mr. Foreman's face, caring, careworn, and kind. He was a doctor, she knew that. But then is struck her.

"You were the family doctor." Dorothy said suddenly.

"Come again my dear?" Doctor foreman asked.

"You, you were the family doctor, you helped me when I was sick, you've changed a bit." Dorothy said.

"No dear, I've just gotten older, I see you've met Aislynn, whom if I remember was left in your custody in the event of his death." Doctor Foreman said smiling.

"He was there when Mr. Greene was helping my grandfather with his will, it was my yearly checkup." Aislynn said sighing.

"Yes, well, there will be no more of that, I am finally ready to retire, I'll finally be able to settle down, maybe take up watercolors or I don't know, I know that the Kepelsen's are going to be moving to the retirement home in the next town over." Doctor foreman said.

"And you're are thinking about buying that house?" Henry asked.

"I've already bought it, finally moving out of the small house, I'll definitely keep the orchard maintained." He said.

"That's good, but why didn't they tell anyone they were moving out?" Henry asked.

"They didn't want anyone to worry." He replied.

"Well then, I guess it's not doctor foreman any more is it?" Aislynn asked giggling.

"You can still call me that, or just call me Jon." Mr. Foreman said chuckling.

"So you were the last doctor to make house calls, well next to doctor Maxwell." Henry said smiling.

"Yes, he told me about that, anyways, I'd like to chat for longer but I really must be off." He said.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again Mr. Foreman, call up our farmhouse if you want to drop by for a cup of tea or something I'm sure Em would be happy to see you again." Henry said.

"I'm sure she would, same number?" He asked.

"Yep." Henry responded.

Mr. Foreman smiled and walked away. Dorothy then looked up at her uncle and smiled.

"He's a really nice man." Dorothy said calmly.

"He's always been, why did he approach you guys?" Henry asked curiously.

"He was defending us from Alex's old cronies." Donna said.

"Ah, that's why I saw them running away then, well anyways, Donna, You and Kelly are wanted at home, Alex, same with you and Annabella." Henry said.

"See you tonight then Dorothy." Alex said picking up Annabella.

Toto walked up to them and barked. Dorothy smiled and picked him up. Ellie then took the wheel chair and started pushing it in the direction of the farm. She sighed and smiled.

**Well, we finally meet the parents of Donna and Kelly, I was writing a few chapters ago when I realized I never even gave Donna a last name, so I figured it would be good to introduce the last of the Alistair family and someone from Dorothy's past that had some sort of connection with Ace as well.**


	37. Babysitting and trying to learn to walk

**Disclaimer – you know**

After Dorothy had gotten back to the farm house with Ellie, Aislynn and her uncle, her aunt served lunch. She was delighted to know that Doctor foreman was still around and would eventually become their neighbor. When Dorothy had finished her lunch she rolled the chair to her bed room and collected the pink orb, her little pocket compendium, and her hair ribbon of keys and placed them back in her pockets. At about half past four Dorothy heard her aunt calling. She wheeled herself out to the living room and found her aunt and uncle dressed in their best clothes, they were ready to go out to dinner with the Teaks and the Maitlands. Dorothy smiled, grabbed the scepter and looked around the living room. She saw that Aislynn and Ellie were nowhere to be seen, neither was Toto.

"Glinda wanted them to stay the night in Oz, apparently she has a plan of some sort but that's all she would tell us." Em said walking over to Dorothy.

"Well then let's go to the Teaks residence then." Dorothy said smiling.

Em and henry both looked at each other and nodded. Soon Dorothy found herself being assisted into their truck by her uncle. He then took the wheel chair and tied it down on the bed of the truck. Soon enough they were off. At one minute to five they arrived at the Teak's. Henry got out of the truck first and untied the wheelchair and brought to the seat that Dorothy was sitting in and opened the door. Alex then ran out of the house and over to the truck and assisted Dorothy into the chair.

"Thanks alex." Dorothy said as Alex pushed the chair towards the house.

"No problem." He said as Mr. and Mrs. Teak emerged from the house.

"Thank you for doing this Dorothy, there are cookies in the kitchen help yourself to them, we'll try to be back before eight." Mrs. Teak said giving Dorothy a quick hug.

"Don't worry about it, you guys have a good time, stay out as long as you'd like." Dorothy said smiling.

Mr. and Mrs. Teak both laughed as they walked over to their own truck. Alex smiled and pushed Dorothy into the house. Shutting and locked the door behind him as they went in.

"What are they afraid someone's going to run in and steal you guys?" Dorothy asked giggling as she rolled herself into the living room where Annabella was waiting in her playpen playing with the stuffed bear that Glinda had tried to get her to play with.

"Mom left the number to my uncle's house and to Doctor Maxwell's office on the fridge." Alex said pushing Dorothy over to the couch.

"Mr. Alistair isn't going out with them?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"No, now that Donna's parents are back in town he decided to spend the day out of town with my aunt." Alex said helping Dorothy out of the wheelchair and onto the couch,

"Thanks, how was your day?" Dorothy asked setting the scepter down next to her.

"Boring, had to help mom find dad's good suit while he was working in the shop making something." Alex said walking over to the playpen and picking up Annabella.

"Dorothy!" she shouted finally noticing Dorothy was here.

"Hello Annabella." Dorothy said as Alex sat down on the couch next to her and placed Annabella on his lap.

"She was asking for you until she found that stuffed bear and started playing with it." Alex said as he heard a kitchen timer ding.

"What was that?" Dorothy asked.

"Dinner's done, mom left some leftovers in the oven to warm up for us to have for dinner, its left over ham from lunch." Alex said.

"Would you like some help getting it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"No, you just take Annabella and I'll go get it." Alex said handing Annabella to Dorothy and walked out of the room.

Annabella climbed off of Dorothy and stood up on the couch. She then kissed Dorothy on the cheek and hugged her tightly making Dorothy giggle.

"Dorothy." Annabella said as Alex walked in with three plates of ham and mashed potatoes.

"She really does love you." Alex said smiling.

"I know." Dorothy said as Alex handed her a plate and a fork and knife.

Alex then put a plate of ham that was cut up into tiny cubes to his little sister who immediately began eating them. Alex then sat down and began eating. As did Dorothy. They ate in silence for about half an hour before Annabella had finished her little ham cubes and wanted to go back into the playpen with her toys. Alex put his plate on coffee table and picked up Annabella. He then carefully put her in the playpen.

"You done." Alex asked curiously.

"Yes, I can take the plates and wash them if you'd like." Dorothy said handing the plate to Alex.

"No, no, I'll take care of it, you just watch Annabella." Alex said taking the plates and walking out.

Dorothy looked down at Annabella and smiled as she watched her play with the stuffed bear. She then chuckled, smiling she sighed happily and leaned back against the couch. After about ten minutes Alex came back in wiping his hands off on his shirt. He then sat back down next to Dorothy again and looked at Annabella and chuckled.

"So, trying to relax?" he said poking her hard on the side teasingly.

"Trying? No, failing, yes." Dorothy said,

"Here, let me help." Alex said grabbing Dorothy's ankles and moving her legs to a position so that she was laying on the couch.

"Thanks alex." Dorothy said pushing herself over so that she was lying on her chest and able to see Annabella.

"Dorothy Comfy?" Annabella asked looking up.

"Yes Annabella." Dorothy said giggling.

Alex chuckled and looked up at the clock, it was now almost six o'clock. He got up and walked over to a nearby arm chair and sat in it,

"It will be time for Annabella to go to bed soon." Alex said.

"It's almost seven o'clock already?" Dorothy asked.

"No it's almost six." Alex said switching on a radio that was next to him.

The radio crackled to life and violin music started coming out of it.

"Anything else interesting on?" Dorothy asked.

"The channel switch broke off about a year ago, this is the only thing we ever hear on this radio." Alex said switching it off.

"Oh." Dorothy said shifting her position so that she was lying on her back.

Dorothy then shifted herself into a sitting position and pulled herself into the wheelchair. She then rolled over to the playpen and smiled.

"Dorothy?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes?" Dorothy replied.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked curiously.

"Watching Annabella, and out of curiosity, why do you require a sitter when you can do this stuff yourself?" Dorothy asked turning the wheelchair towards Alex.

"Because my parents don't trust me really." Alex said getting up and walking over to the playpen.

"Okay then, I can kinda guess why." Dorothy said giggling.

"Hey." He said playfully punching her on the arm.

"You know alex." Dorothy said trying to sound annoyed yet in a teasing tone.

They both laughed at this for a minute. Then Annabella wanted to be picked up.

_Meanwhile in the emerald city_

Glinda and Ellie were standing in front of the crystal ball keeping an eye on Dorothy. Ellie was shocked to see Alex being nice and now really began to question whether or not she was wrong about him. Glinda merely chuckled and sighed.

"Ah young love." She said waving her wand over the crystal ball causing it to go dark.

"Ah sis, don't talk like that." Ellie said gagging.

"Ha, you'll think the same way when your Dorothy's age." Glinda said.

"Glinda she's only about a year older than I am." Ellie said.

"So?" Glinda said chuckling.

"Glinda!" Ellie complained.

Meanwhile in the library, Aislynn and scarecrow were reading in the armchairs of the library. Toto was on the ground in front of them watching them read with intent. After a few more minutes of this he walked over to Aislynn and jumped up on her lap.

"You're tired aren't you Toto? Well you've had a long day." Aislynn said petting him.

"Should we bring him to Dorothy's room?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"Yes, let's" Aislynn said setting her book down and picking up Toto, got up and walked towards the door.

Scarecrow got up and followed as they walked out of the library. It didn't take them too long to get to Dorothy's bedroom which was left open. Aislynn brought Toto over to the bed and set him down on it. He then curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Aislynn sighed and walked back over to the scarecrow, they then walked hand in hand back to the library.

_Meanwhile back in Kansas._

Annabella was busy playing with her toys when she yawned loudly. Dorothy looked over at the clock. It was now ten of seven. Dorothy looked at Alex who nodded and picked up Annabella handing her to Dorothy. She cradled Annabella in her arms and hummed a lullaby. After a few minutes Annabella was asleep in Dorothy's arms. She then handed Annabella back off to Alex who carefully took her and brought her upstairs. Dorothy then sighed and wheeled over to the couch. She pushed herself out of the wheelchair and back onto the couch and picked up the scepter. She looked into the orb and noticed the red haze was still in the center. She still wondered what it meant but decided to ignore it. After a few seconds Alex quietly came back into the room.

"Annabella's in her crib, want to listen to some music?" He asked.

"Sure." Dorothy said.

Alex turned on the radio and the sound of more violin music filled the room. Alex smiled and turned down the volume so that it was a mellow sound. He then walked over to the couch and sat down next to Dorothy. Dorothy looked at him and smiled, she then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek making him blush. Dorothy smiled and giggled again.

"So, feelings mutual?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yep." Dorothy said placing down the scepter

Alex got up and yawned.

"I'm going to go get a drink, want anything?" He asked curiously.

"No thanks I'm good." She replied.

Alex smiled and walked out of the room. Dorothy sighed and stretched. She then leaned back on the couch and yawned. The sound of the violin music was relaxing and calming. Alex walked back into the room a few minutes later carrying two glasses of milk and a large plate of cookies.

"Cookie?" he offered.

Dorothy smiled and took a cookie. He then set the glasses of milk and the plate on the coffee table.

"I know you said you didn't want any but mom said help yourself to the cookies and who doesn't like them with milk?" Alex said taking one for himself.

"Alex, would you mind helping me with my flats?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Not at all." He said getting up and walking over to Dorothy and kneeling down and pulling off Dorothy's flats for her, handing them to her.

"Thanks." She said taking the flats and placing them on the side table. The clock then finally struck eight o'clock and she yawned.

Alex chuckled and picked up his glass of milk and a cookie. He dunked the cookie once and then chugged the glass of milk. Sighing and wiping off his lips he then took a bite from the cookie.

"Impressive." Dorothy said eating her cookie and picking up the glass of milk and taking a sip.

Dorothy then yawned again and leaned back closing her eyes, before she even knew it she was asleep. She awoke to the sound of the clock striking four. The lights were turned off and the scepter was floating a few feet in front of her giving off a red and green glow. She noticed that she now had a quilt wrapped around her. She smiled as she pulled herself off the couch and into her wheelchair which was close enough for her to do this. She then rolled herself out of the living room and to the kitchen. When she got to the kitchen she found an empty cup on the table with a note saying _'in case you get thirsty' _she smiled and picked it up. She then rolled over to the sink and filled the cup up. Taking a quick drink she dumped the rest out into the sink basin and set the cup down on the counter. She then rolled back into the living room and over to the couch she had been resting on. She then picked up the scepter which began to glow brighter. She then leaned the scepter back down against the couch and then managed to use most of her strength to push herself out of the wheelchair and back onto the couch. She then heard the sounds of creaking from the rooms upstairs. She turned her head and the next thing she realized was that the sense of hearing that she had when she was a cat had stuck with her. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps approaching, she knew for sure they were Alex's. She could tell this because whoever was walking around upstairs didn't seem to care if they woke up everyone in the house. She then shook her head a few times to clear it and the sounds faded. She then laid back down on the couch and tried to pretend to be asleep as someone entered into the room.

"Dorothy, I know you're awake." Alex said in a whisper.

Dorothy opened her eyes and pushed herself back into a sitting position. She looked over to Alex and saw that it wasn't just him. Annabella was standing next to him rubbing her eyes. She then walked over to the couch and climb up onto it. She then laid down and rested her head in Dorothy's lap.

"Why are you two up so early?" Dorothy asked in a loud whisper.

"Because, well." He said walking over and handing her a piece of paper.

Dorothy took it and read it to herself, it was a note from Glinda, and she would be brought to Oz as well as Alex and Annabella with her.

"Alex, would you please grab a pad of paper and something to write with?" Dorothy said.

Alex nodded and ran out of the room. He returned a few seconds later with a small notepad and a pencil. He then handed it to Dorothy who wrote down a quick note about where they were and not to worry. She then placed it down on the coffee table. Alex then helped her with her flats and picked up Annabella. He then walked over to the wheelchair and grabbed it. He and Annabella then vanished in a flash. She then picked up the scepter and felt herself lurch forward. Soon as the feelings of being dizzy and sick began they stopped as she fell into the wheelchair. She caught her breath and placed the scepter down on the ground and looked around to see what room she was in, it was the chambers, except they were darkened by the early morning.

"Good morning Dorothy." Came the tired voice of Alison.

"Alison, where's Glinda?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"With your friends, giving them a quick rundown on what going on." She said snapping her fingers, in turn causing the room to light up.

"But why so early?" she asked stretching.

"Because, right now everything is all about you, according to the Nome King, you could learn how to walk again, however it will take a lot of will power and energy to do so." Alison replied.

"So, learning how to walk at my own expense?" Dorothy asked a bit concerned.

"Well, yes and no, as long as you keep the scepter with you or at least near you it should assist you along the way, but like I said this will take a lot of will power and a lot of energy." She said pulling out her little book flipping through the pages and handing it to Dorothy.

Dorothy read through it quickly, it seemed fair enough, and she was getting a little annoyed by the wheelchair even though she had only been in it for a few day. She handed the book back to Alison and held her hand out at the scepter. It once more flew directly to her hands. She then rolled herself to the door and found Glinda waiting just outside it with Annabella in her arms.

"Ah, Dorothy, I'm sure Alison has explained everything to you." She said in a hushed voice.

"Yes, where's alex?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He went to the library with scarecrow and Aislynn, Ellie isn't too happy about him being here though, I believe she's currently in your room pouting." Glinda said walking around Dorothy and into the chambers.

Dorothy sighed and rolled to her bedroom, sure the wheelchair got her their faster than walking would have but it was still a pain in the neck to have to do it all the time. When she got to her room she found Ellie, on her bed petting Toto, she didn't seem too happy, when she saw Dorothy she instantly turned her face to avoid her gaze.

"Ellie?" Dorothy said rolling into the room.

"Morning." She said in a weak tone.

"Ellie, I know that you don't like the idea of Alex being here but…" Dorothy said as Ellie cut her off.

"It's not that Dorothy, it's just, you changed him, he defended you when his cronies were attacking you, I didn't even think that your goal was realistic enough to work, but you were right, and he has changed, I guess it's that I don't like being wrong about things." Ellie said taking Toto off her lap and getting up.

"So you're not upset about me and alex being friends, but more or less that I was able to get him to be a better person within a matter of days, not to mention without getting myself severely injured in the process?" Dorothy asked curiously, as well as extremely confused.

"I know, confusing isn't it?" Ellie asked teasingly.

Dorothy smiled and rolled over to Ellie, who finally looked up.

"Sure it's confusing but Ellie, just realize this, there will be times in your life when you are proven wrong, you may not like it but it happens." Dorothy said stopping just short of the foot of the bed.

"I know, Dorothy, I've learned a lot over the last year or so, and most of it was from you." Ellie said smiling.

"I'm flattered." Dorothy replied giggling.

"You're welcome, anyways, let's go to the chambers, your lessons will be starting soon." She said walking around the wheelchair, turning it around and pushing it out of the room.

Meanwhile while all this was going on scarecrow and Alex were helping Aislynn get some books to read.

"How long do you think it would take to read every book in this entire library?" Alex asked looking over to the scarecrow who was currently up on a ladder next to one of the bookshelves.

"I don't know, I haven't even gotten that far yet, but I'm assuming if you started reading the books one after another nonstop, maybe a few years." He said walking down the ladder with a few books.

"Okay, even thinking about that makes my brain ache." Alex said rubbing his temples.

"I know, just the thought of trying to read nonstop is mindboggling even for me, and though I don't like to brag, I am probably much smarter than you." He said chuckling.

"That's not much of an achievement." Aislynn said walking over to them.

"Aislynn be nice." Scarecrow said handing her the books.

"Aislynn if I were really dumb do you think I'd be in the advanced class with you, Ellie, and Dorothy, not to mention my own cousin?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well no, but let's face it, you and I both know that a lot of people are definitely smarter than you." Aislynn said giggling.

"Okay no arguing, I'm still smarter than both of you." The scarecrow said chuckling.

"Good point, hey ace?" Alex asked looking at her.

"Yes?" She replied.

"I'm sorry for making fun of you all those times at the library." Alex said.

"Apology accepted." Aislynn said smiling.

"Alex, Aislynn, Scarecrow!?" Came the voice of Alison.

"Is it time to start?" Scarecrow asked.

"Yep." Alison said.

"Well then come on you two, let's go." Scarecrow said grabbing both of them by the hand and dragging them along.

Soon after everyone was gathered back in the chambers. Glinda raised her wand and everything went silent. No noise could be heard outside of the sounds of everyone breathing.

"Now, we need to have this place as quiet as possible, that way it's easier for you to concentrate." Glinda said calmly.

"What are the odds of her getting it first go?" Ellie asked curiously looking at her sister.

"Rather low, odds are she'll most likely pass out first." Alison whispered before Glinda could even say anything.

"Right, alex help her get her balance please." Glinda said referring to Dorothy.

Alex nodded, walked over to Dorothy and took her by the hand. She tossed the scepter which flew to the middle of the room and hovered there. As soon as Dorothy had her balance Alex walked away from her and over to Glinda. Annabella, who had been silent up to this point was looking at the scepter wide-eyed.

"Now Dorothy, I want you to concentrate, focus on walking, and when you think you've got enough focus on it, I want you to try and take a step." Glinda said waving her wand again causing all of the lights in the room to dim, even the scepter was affected.

Dorothy stood there for a second, she took a few deep breaths, concentrating hard on trying to move all of her energy to her legs. But her concentration was broken by a memory, one that she didn't even know she remembered. A winter so many years ago, the first winter she ever remembered she had gotten herself onto a frozen pond, she found that ice was cracking underneath her and got scared. Her mother had comforted her then and helped her.

"_Come on Dorothy, you can do it, just take a step towards momma." Came the voice of her mother._

_I-I-I cant." Dorothy replied in scared tone._

"_Darling, I can't come out there, the ice won't support me, and you need to be brave, come on just one step." She said opening her arms._

"_I'm frightened Momma." Dorothy said looking down at her feet and the cracks in the ice._

"_I know my child, but you have to try." She said._

_Dorothy closed her eyes and started to take a step, she immediately began to lose her balance but caught herself, she opened her eyes and took a small step, she then moved a little more slowly._

"_There, take it easy now, come on." She said._

"_Momma please, I'm frightened." Dorothy said as the ice cracked some more._

"_Dorothy please, just a few more steps." She replied in desperation._

_Dorothy closed her eyes again. She held her breath and took a step forward, then another, and another. The sound of the ice cracking made her open her eyes again scared she looked down and saw all of the cracks below her. She looked forward in desperation to see her mother only a few more steps away. She breathed out and ran, the ice breaking under her. She made it into her mother's grasp just as the ice broke completely._

Dorothy was snapped out of the memory by someone embracing her tightly. She opened her own eyes to find Ellie with her arms wrapped around her. She then realized that she had been crying again.

"Dorothy, you were remembering something, what were you remembering dear?" Glinda asked walking over and pulling Ellie away.

"I, I, I was remembering, Glinda, please I don't really want to talk about it." Dorothy said as she collapsed backwards into the wheel chair, out of energy.

Glinda sighed and placed a hand on Dorothy's forehead. She drew back after a few seconds and waved her wand over Dorothy.

"She's ice cold, whatever she saw, it was time where she was really, really frightened." Glinda said waving her wand causing all the lights to brighten again.

The scepter floated down to Dorothy and began to glow. Annabella ran over to it and tried to touch it only to have Glinda pull her away.

"Let the scepter do its work my child." Glinda said walking Annabella over to Ellie.

"When should we try again?" Alison asked curiously.

"Later, when she wakes again, but this time we should bring her to the clearing, a more peaceful environment." Glinda said with a deep and heavy sigh.

"Alex?" Ellie said looking over to the boy.

"Yes?" He replied looking over to her.

"I'm sorry about punching you, I guess we just kind of got off on the wrong foot." Ellie said scratching the back of her neck.

"No need to apologize, if I were you I would have punched me as well." Alex said making every chuckle a bit.

"Anyways, I don't think we were ever properly introduced, I'm Ellie Upland, Glinda's sister and Heir to the throne of the north." Ellie said curtseying.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your grace." Alex said bowing.

"Oh please don't do that." Ellie said.

"Ellie you are of age where if I become unable to perform my duties you end up having to take over for me." Glinda said

"Why didn't you tell me this months ago?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Because I didn't want to worry you." Glinda said sighing and then remembering what she was going to do.

"Ellie it's a fair argument, I mean it's not like Glinda will be incapacitated in a coma or captured by the jester again." Alison said a Glinda shot her an angry look.

"Fair enough Alison, anyways has anyone checked on the progress on the jester's spell?" Ellie asked curiously.

"No progress, our spell is holding for now, but it's only a matter of time I assume before he strengthens it." Alison said.

Dorothy then groaned her eyes opened and she sat up.

"Agh, what happened?" She asked grabbing the scepter.

"You passed out, that took a lot out of you." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and placing a hand under her chin.

"Oh, Glinda, please, can we try again?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes my dear, but this time in a much more peaceful location." She said pushing the wheelchair out of the chambers, everyone following slowly behind.

No one said anything, not even Dorothy who observed as the scepter floated into her hand. Soon all of them were out at the docks and loading onto Tugg's deck.

"Where to?" he asked in surprise as everyone piled onto the deck.

"The clearing Tugg." Glinda said.

"Yes mam." He said embarking towards the clearing.

"Why the clearing Glinda?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"It's much more calming and serene I figured it may help you concentrate better." Glinda replied watching the sunrise.

Dorothy nodded and sighed. Tightening her grip on the scepter and looked at Alex who was talking with Aislynn and Ellie while Annabella was trying to get up to see the scenery. Scarecrow walked over to her and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do great, we both know you can do it." He said trying to sound motivating.

"Thanks scarecrow, I know I can but it's really tasking, and I, oh never mind." She said rolling over to the front of the boat and sighing.

It wasn't long before they finally reached the clearing. Dorothy sighed as they all disembarked and Dorothy went to the middle of the clearing. Alex once more helped her get her balance. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, concentrated, and blacked out.

**Happy Late thanksgiving if you celebrate it. anyways tthe next few chapters will take place two months later in december making way for my special christmas chapter**


	38. Winter days part 1

**Quick AN: in a recent review someone asked me how old Aislynn was, I would like to point out that though I never gave her an exact age but in chapter 3 I put her at possibly around the same age as Ellie which I have said is about a year younger than Dorothy, which after looking at my version of the canon I have definitely determined that Dorothy I believe is around 14, so Ellie and ace are around the age of 13**

_Kansas two months later._

After two failed attempts at trying to learn to walk again, Dorothy found trying it a big headache and decided herself that she'd rather wait the three months. School had reopened a few days after and two months passed by rather quickly for all of them. Halloween passed by without any problem, Thanksgiving was surprisingly quiet, and now it was December. Today they were back in school, it had started snowing shortly after they all arrived and it had turned into a heavy snowfall.

"So can anyone tell me what the answer to this equation is?" Mr. Pryce asked turning away from the chalkboard.

Dorothy looked around, the only people who didn't seem too distracted by the snowfall were, Aislynn, Ellie, and herself. Aislynn raised her hand trying hard to get Mr. Pryce's attention.

"Okay then, Aislynn?" Mr. Pryce responded.

"According to my work, the answer is around 142?" Aislynn said not really sure about it.

"That is correct, anyways, everybody pay attention!" He yelled picking up a book and slamming it down on his desk.

Everyone jolted back to attention and looked forward as the intercom crackled to life and Mr. Alistair's voice came from it.

"Attention, Attention, given the recent change in the weather we will be releasing early, I repeat we will be releasing early, that is all." He said as the intercom squeaked and crackled as it turned off.

The entire classroom erupted into cheers. Dorothy rolled her eyes and looked behind her at Alex. He smiled and put on his jacket, looked at her and smiled. Mr. Pryce got up and handed out some papers to everyone and gave an extra paper to Aislynn who smiled.

"Well seeing as you all will be departing early, I may as well say that we will be having a quick quiz when we come back." He said as Mr. Alistair walked into the room.

"Hello Uncle." Donna said smiling.

"Hello Donna, Dorothy, your aunt and uncle just called, due to the conditions of the weather, I am supposed to drive you and your friends back to the farmhouse before the roads get too blocked up, I hope you don't mind Mr. Pryce." He said looking over to him.

"Not at all, please, I'd rather have them leave early than be stuck here, Alex you sit back down you aren't going anywhere." Mr. Pryce said as Mr. Alistair walked over to him.

"Alex is allowed to leave as well, I talked to his parents who are currently at the gale residence with them, my brother has loaned me his truck so that we can transport these guys there." Mr. Alistair said smiling.

Alex chuckled, Got up, and helped Dorothy with her coat. He then picked up her satchel and hung it on the wheelchair. Dorothy smiled and picked up the scepter and all of her work. Alex then pushed her towards the classroom door. Ellie and Aislynn soon followed as they all walked out of the classroom and started for the main doors.

"It's really coming down out there now." Mr. Alistair said as they walked along.

It didn't take too long for them to get to the main doors and out into the parking lot. Alex helped Dorothy into the front passenger seat and then put the wheelchair in the back of the truck. Soon they were all in the truck and on their way towards the gale farmhouse.

"It's really coming down now." Dorothy said as she tried to see out the window.

"Luckily you don't live that far from the school." Alex said chuckling.

"Right, anyways, oh the scepter." She said looking down at it.

It was glowing, not its normal bright green but now a marvelous gold. The snow outside began to swirl around like a dust cloud. Clearing a way for them to see. Mr. Alistair drove slowly till they eventually reached the farmhouse. Dorothy could see her aunt and uncle fastening a plow to their pickup truck so that they could help clear the roads. The scepter then went back to its usual glow. Alex, Ellie and Aislynn quickly got out of the truck, Alex went to the back and grabbed the wheelchair, and then helped Dorothy out of the truck. They then all hurried inside, and as soon as they were in Dorothy was immediately jumped on by Annabella.

"Dorothy!" Annabella said hugging Dorothy tightly around the neck.

"Hello Dorothy my dear." Came the voice of Doctor Foreman.

"Doctor Foreman, What a surprise." Dorothy said looking up at him as Annabella was practically strangling her.

"Dorothy, I think you know that I have now retired, please its Mr. Foreman now." He said walking over.

"Come on Annabella, let's let Dorothy breath." Alex said picking up Annabella.

Dorothy gasped and caught her breath. She then put her hand out to retrieve the scepter. It floated up to her hand. She then rolled over to Mr. Foreman who held out and hand for her to shake. She returned the handshake and then rolled into the living room where the Teaks were waiting.

"Seems like perfect weather for a snowball fight." Mr. Teak said looking out the window.

"Don't get any ideas dear." Mrs. Teak said shooting her husband a look of pure venom.

"I was just saying my dear." He replied looking at his wife.

"I could actually go for a snowball fight." Aislynn said smiling.

"I think I'd rather, watch, a snowball fight." Dorothy said happily.

"Come on Dorothy where your sense of excitement and adventure is?" Alex asked curiously.

"Nowhere, I've just never been in a snowball fight." Dorothy said shrugging, this made almost everyone share a collected gasp, and the only ones who didn't gasp were Ellie and Aislynn who already knew this.

"Well I wouldn't recommend going out now, far too much snow on the roads, the wheelchair would never get through it." Mr. Foreman said looking out the window.

"Well we need to have Dorothy participate in a snowball fight at some point, bottom line." Alex said smiling.

Dorothy looked at Alex and smiled she the rolled over the couch across from the one the Teaks were using. She then took off her jacket and draped it behind the chair. She then pulled herself onto the couch and sat down. Alex walked over, handed Annabella off to his parents and sat down next to Dorothy. Dorothy looked over to Aislynn and Ellie who hadn't even taken their coats off.

"I think ace and I will help your aunt and uncle." Ellie said taking aislynn's hand and dragging her outside.

Mr. Foreman chuckled, walked over and sat in an arm chair. He crossed his left leg over his right knee and pressed his fingertips together. Mr. Alistair smiled, tipped his hat and walked out of the house as well. Auntie Em then came into the house rubbing her hands together.

"The snow's lightening up, soon Henry will be going out with the truck to help plow the roads, Mr. Teak will you be helping, or Fenny will she be helping?" Em asked.

"Us no, The Maitlands yes, and Emily, I think we should take Dorothy and her friends to the park." Mrs. Teak said smiling.

"Why?" Both Dorothy and Em asked in unison

Mrs. Teak smiled, Got up and walked over to Em. She then whispered something into her ear. Em chuckled and nodded. Dorothy looked at her aunt curiously. She then looked over at Toto, who surprisingly, was asleep in the corner. Alex noticed this, chuckled, took a pencil from his pocket, and tossed it at Toto. Toto felt this, he then instantly stood up, looked around in confusion and chased his tail a few times before he noticed all the people in the house and ran over to Dorothy.

"Alex that wasn't nice." Dorothy said punching him playfully on the arm.

Alex smiled and looked around the room, his eyes then fell on the calendar and he smiled.

"Hey Dorothy, the three months is almost up, you should be able to walk again soon." Alex said happily.

"Wow, I never noticed to be honest." Dorothy said looking down at her legs.

"It will be good to have you running around again." Mr. Teak said smiling.

"Momma?" Annabella asked.

"Yes honey?" Mrs. Teak replied.

"When Dorothy walk again, can she be babysitter again?" Annabella asked.

"Sure dear, actually, Em, would you and henry like to join my husband and I, as well as my sister and her husband on a night out next week?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"Not at all Mr. Foreman, it must get really lonely for you, not being married and all." Mr. Teak said as his wife punched him teasingly on the shoulder.

"It's okay Mrs. Teak, he's quite right." Mr. Foreman said putting up a hand.

No one tried to argue this, mostly for fear that they would offend, after a few seconds Em broke the silence.

"Anyone want a hot drink?" She asked curiously.

Everyone looked at each other, then back at Em, them once more at each other. They then all shrugged, Mrs. Teak raised her hand and walked back over to her husband.

"Em do you still have your mothers hot cocoa recipe?" she asked curiously.

"She does, she makes it every year." Dorothy said smiling.

"What's Cocoa?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Oh that's right you haven't had hot chocolate yet." Mr. Teak said looking down at his daughter.

"She hasn't?" Mr. Foreman asked.

"No doctor." He said looking over to him.

"You know if they aren't allergic to chocolate…" Mr. Foreman trailing off, he always knew when to stop a lecture, and now was one of those times as Mr. and Mrs. Teak shot daggers at him.

"Right, I do still have the recipe, but I don't have all the ingredients." Em said walking over to a cabinet and pulling out a box of recipe cards.

"I'm so glad these survived that tornado." Em said pulling out the card.

"I know." Mrs. Teak said getting up, she walked over to Em and looked at the box however and gasped.

"What?" Em asked looked around.

"That's not your original box for those, what happened, where did you get that one?" She asked.

EM sighed and looked at Dorothy, both Dorothy and her own face sunk. Toto looked up at Dorothy and opened his mouth to say something.

"I think we know what's going to happen." he said as Em sighed.

"It belonged to Dorothy's father, he was good at baking, as was her mother, but they left me these in the event of their death." Em said rather quickly.

Dorothy sighed and took Toto off her lap. She then pulled herself into the wheelchair and rolled out of the room. Dorothy sighed and went to her room. She looked around, set the scepter down against her dresser, and pulled out her pocket compendium. She flipped through it and then threw it on her bed, Toto and Alex then walked into the room. Alex placed a hand on Dorothy's shoulder and sighed.

"You don't like talking about them do you?" Alex asked walking around Dorothy to face her.

"No, I don't, the memories hurt." She said pushing Alex out of the way and rolling over to her bedside cabinet.

Alex said nothing to remark this. He got up, walked around Dorothy, and picked up the scepter. Its red haze still hadn't faded. Dorothy then turned around, sighed, and rolled over to him. Toto jumped up on her lap in the process wanting to go along for the ride. She took the scepter from Alex and sighed.

"Alex?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Help me up, I want to try something." She said taking Toto off her lap.

"But Dorothy!" he said in concern.

"Alex do as I tell you." She said placing Toto on the floor and leaning the scepter against the chair.

Alex didn't say a word, he helped Dorothy up and tried to help her gain her balance. As soon as she was balance she looked at Toto who gave her a curious look.

"Dorothy what are you doing?" He asked with a whimper.

Dorothy didn't respond, she looked at Alex, sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't concentrate, she wasn't going to try and will this to happen. She knew this time she would walk on her own. She relaxed herself and got herself into her state of meditation from when she was in the clearing. She slowed her breathing, and the next thing she knew she was falling into Alex's arms.

"What happened?" she asked in confusion

"You managed to lift your leg but you lost your balance." Alex said chuckling.

"Alex, help me with my boots." Dorothy said as Alex helped her back into the chair.

Alex gave up at this point, he wasn't going to argue. He knelt down and helped Dorothy slide the boots off. Once this was done Dorothy pushed herself up using Alex as a ballast and got her own balance.

"That's an improvement." Alex said moving the boots behind him,

"I know." She said smiling.

Dorothy smiled and closed her eyes again. Feeling her bare feet against the hardwood floor of her bedroom made her feel like she could connect with the environment she was in. she didn't know why she felt this but to her it felt right. She got herself back into her state of meditation and slowed her breathing. She cleared her head and began to slowly move her legs. The sound of the clock in the living room striking noon distracted her and she opened her eyes. She nearly lost her balance but she managed to move her leg forward and stumbled. She then realized she was in the hallway just outside her bedroom door. She looked in front of her and saw the hallway vacant. She decided to use this as a chance to get her bearings. She moved her legs slowly and turned around to see Alex smiling. Toto was sitting there as well, he had a happy look on his face. Dorothy chuckled and slowly walked over to Alex. As soon as she was in front of him she hugged him tightly and grabbed her boots from Alex.

"Well, what are we going to do about that thing?" Alex asked curiously.

"I really don't know, I hope that Glinda is watching, maybe she'll do something with it." Dorothy said sitting down on the wheel chair and pulling her boots on.

"Or you could just keep it assuming the jester decides to do it again." Toto said.

"Why would he do it again Toto?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Um, he's the jester, a second time would be a joke to him." Toto said.

"Good point." Dorothy said looking down at her companion

"Why don't we just throw it in the storm cellar?" Alex asked

"I like that idea, why didn't you ask what Toto was telling me by the way." Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because I just kind of gave up asking, and imp assuming that your dog is worried that this could happen again." He said as Dorothy stood up and hugged him tightly.

Alex laughed, as did Dorothy. She then took his hand and ran out the room dragging him behind her. When they got into the living room Dorothy was immediately embraced not by Ellie, but by her aunt.

"Oh thank goodness, we thought we were going crazy." Em said kissing Dorothy on the cheek.

"Have Ellie and Aislynn come back inside?" Alex asked curiously.

"No, I think they're building a snowman." Em said looking out the window.

Alex chuckled, pulled himself out of Dorothy's grasp and grabbed her coat. Annabella jumped up and ran over to Dorothy nearly tackling her down.

"Annabella is really excited it seems." Mrs. Teak said getting up.

"Quite right, she should, she's grown some sort of attachment to Dorothy." Mr. Foreman said getting up and walking over to them.

Aislynn then burst into the house and shivered. She ran past all of them and into the guest room. Everyone looked down the hallway in surprise. Aislynn then slowly walked out and over to Dorothy. She looked Dorothy up and down, she then embraced her tightly.

"You won't believe how long I've waited to do that." Aislynn said looking at Dorothy and then down at Annabella giggling.

"Aislynn my dear, why did you come back in side?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"Oops, right Ellie asked me to grab her a pair of mittens from her box of things, and then grab a pair for myself." Aislynn said as Ellie walked in.

"Ace, what's taking you so….oh my." She said running over to Dorothy and embracing Dorothy tightly.

"Okay, okay give the girl some air, we don't want to suffocate her do we?" Mr. Foreman asked chuckling.

Ellie let go of Dorothy and smiled, but then got a confused face.

"This isn't a trick is it?" Ellie asked giving a sly look to Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and pushed away Aislynn and Annabella. She then walked over to Mr. Foreman who stuck out a hand for to shake. She took it and returned it.

"It's great to greet you like this again." He said chuckling.

"I know, Mr. Foreman, Jon if I may?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"You may my dear." He said happily.

"Right, Jon, how much have I changed over the years?" Dorothy asked curiously.

Mr. Foreman took a step back, he then looked Dorothy up and down as Aislynn did. He placed a hand under Dorothy's chin and tilted her face to the left and right. Chuckling and taking the hand out from under her chin, he then placed the hand under his own and smiled.

"Not much my dear, you've matured a lot but that's about it." He said chuckling.

"Oh." She said giggling.

"Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously as Alex walked over with her coat.

"Yes Ellie?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"We're almost done with our snowman, but you wouldn't happen to know where we could find a top hat would you?" Ellie asked curiously.

"That I can help with." Em said walking over to the closet.

"When did we get a top hat?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Henry used to wear it to events." Em said opening the closet and pulling it out.

Dorothy snickered, she couldn't imagine her uncle wearing something like that. The thought of it was hilarious though. She then took her coat from Alex and put it on. Her aunt also pulled out a pair of mittens and scarf and walked over to Dorothy. She wrapped the scarf around Dorothy's neck and then handed her the mittens. Mr. Foreman stood there, looking at the hat, something about what Em said apparently bothered him.

"Is something wrong Jon?" Aislynn asked curiously

"It's nothing." He said looking at Em, she was glaring daggers at him.

Dorothy then smiled and put on the mittens. Alex then got his coat on and walked out of the house. The snow had picked up again and everyone could see that. Dorothy smiled and took the top hat from her aunt and walked over to the door, holding out her hand so that the scepter would float into it. Walking out she saw her uncle was walking over to the house. He then stopped in his tracks, leaned forward placing a hand over his brow, and then pinched himself twice just to be sure. He then took off in a sprint, well the fastest run he could do in all the snow that had collected on the ground. Dorothy smiled and looked at Alex, who was now standing right next to her, and handed him the top hat. She then took off to meet her uncle in the middle. She soon found herself in her uncle's embrace. He was chuckling almost uncontrollably. It took him a minute to get to his senses, he took a deep breath and released his niece from the hug.

"Oh, you won't believe how long your aunt and I have been waiting to do that once again." Henry said wiping a tear from his eyes and then shaking his head because of his statement.

"Oh Uncle Henry." Dorothy said sighing in content with this.

Dorothy then heard uncle henry burst into a peal of laughter. Dorothy looked back to see Mrs. Teak holding Annabella up to place the top hat on the snowman. Dorothy giggled and broke out of her embrace.

"I remember that hat, always looked extremely stupid when I used to wear it." He said chuckling.

"Auntie Em took it out of the closet for them to use on the snow man, I guess Annabella wanted to contribute." Dorothy said tightening her grip on the scepter.

Both Dorothy and henry walked over to the snowman. Dorothy then took off her scarf and wrapped it under the snowman's head. She then chuckled and took a step back.

"I like it." Alex said plainly.

"It looks nice." Mrs. Teak said as Annabella reached out to Dorothy.

"Dorothy!" she said giggling.

Dorothy chuckled as Mrs. Teak handed Annabella over to her. Annabella then embraced Dorothy tightly and shivered a bit. Dorothy sighed and walked back towards the house again. Ellie and Aislynn ran off the porch to admire all their handiwork. Dorothy chuckled and let go of the scepter allowing it to float in front of her. The door was then opened by Auntie Em. Em took Annabella from Dorothy so she could take her coat off. As soon as Dorothy had her coat off, and had taken off her boots setting them by the radiator to warm up and dry a bit. She then helped her aunt with Annabella's coat and scarf. Dorothy then took Annabella from Aunt Em and walked into the living room where Mr. Teak and Mr. Foreman were engaged in conversation.

"Be that as it may, I still don't think it's that practical of a treatment." Mr. Foreman said sternly.

"But what's so impractical…? Oh Dorothy." Mr. Teak said noticing Dorothy and his daughter in the room.

"Hello." She said sitting down on the couch and setting Annabella down next to her.

She then picked up scepter. They all then heard the sound of the truck starting. Mr. Teak pointed out that Henry was off to help with the plowing. Mr. Foreman pointed out the smell of peppermint was filling the room. Dorothy sniffed the air and picked up the smell of peppermint as well. Em then walked in carrying a tray with a large tea pot and cups for everyone except for Annabella who was too young to hold a tea cup. She served Mr. Foreman first, then to Mr. Teak, and then to Dorothy.

"Thanks auntie Em." Dorothy said taking a sip.

Em was about to say something when everyone else came back in side, Ellie was the first person to say something.

"Ah peppermint, someone's been making tea." Ellie said chuckling.

"How's the snowman dear?" Mr. Teak shouted.

"It came out great on my opinion." Mrs. Teak said walking into the living room.

Em smiled and gave Mrs. Teak a hot cup of tea. Ellie, Aislynn and Alex came in next. Dorothy then got up and helped her aunt serve them tea. Alex walked over to Dorothy and kissed her on the cheek making her visibly blush. Ellie and Aislynn both made gagging noises before Em hushed them. Alex then took a sip of the tea and smiled.

"Dorothy, you're blushing." Ellie said gagging a bit.

"I think she knows." Mr. Foreman said chuckling.

"Dorothy and alecks definitely love?" Annabella asked, in turn making everyone laugh heartily.

"Yes, Annabella I guess so." Dorothy said chuckling and walking back over to her.

"Yay, I right!" She said clapping.

Dorothy chuckled and tapped Annabella on the nose, in turn making her giggle. Dorothy then picked up Annabella who kissed her on the cheek making everyone laugh harder. Dorothy smiled and handed Annabella to Alex. She then sat down and downed the rest of her tea. The now lukewarm water and the taste of peppermint relaxed her. She then chuckled and sat down on the couch. She knew that this would be a fun winter.

**Well then this starts Dorothy's ability to walk again. Also in the next chapter, Dorothy's first snowball fight.**


	39. Winter Days part 2

**Disclaimer, you know.**

The rest of that day went by in a flash, it was later announced that school would be cancelled the next day due to the snow continuing, it was forecasted at least another foot of snow overnight. At around five or six The Teaks and Mr. Foreman left. Dorothy and Aislynn were helping Dorothy's aunt with dinner while Ellie was contacting Glinda. Henry had returned from plowing and now it was time to set the table Dorothy smiled as she smelt the cooking food and listened to the clock striking seven.

"Auntie Em, are we having extra company?" Dorothy asked counting the plates.

Dorothy didn't wait long for an answer because she immediately felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. He turned quickly to see Glinda standing behind her. She nearly dropped the plates that she was carrying, and she indeed would have had Glinda not magically transported them to the table.

"Glinda I asked Dorothy to do that." Em said wiping her hands off on her shirt.

"And she would have dropped them had I not done that, and we wouldn't want that would we?" Glinda said chuckling.

Dorothy giggled and embraced Glinda. Toto then ran into the room followed by Ellie. She embraced her sister tightly. Dorothy then broke from the embrace and picked up Toto. He barked and licked her on the face. Dorothy giggled and walked over to the dining room table.

"Oh please stay for dinner, then you can visit mom and dad." Ellie said.

"Okay Ellie, I'll stay, why haven't you contacted me in so long though?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Not much has happened." Ellie said shrugging.

"She's not wrong, to be honest Dorothy walking again is the most interesting thing to happen in a while." Em said bringing out a casserole.

"Smells good Mrs. Gale." Ellie and Glinda said in unison.

"Thank you." She said walking over to the dining room table.

"Dorothy, where's the scepter?" Ellie asked curiously.

"In the living room, next to the radiator by my boots." Dorothy said holding out her hand causing it to fly to her.

Well, at least you mastered calling your object of power." Glinda said smiling.

"Yes she has, oh and Dorothy that reminds me, we need to take you to the store at some point and invest in some winter boots." Em said dusting her hands off.

"Right, I'll take note of that." Dorothy said setting Toto down on the floor and letting go of the scepter.

Dorothy then walked over to the kitchen counter and found a pad and pencil. She took a not about this for her aunt and then stuck it to the fridge with a magnet.

"Remind me to look at that." Em said as henry walked into the room.

"Smells delicious, oh hello Glinda" He said looking over to Glinda.

"Hello Mr. Gale." Glinda said walking over to the table and sitting down/

Everyone followed suit and soon dinner was served. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Aislynn broke the silence.

"This casserole is really good Mr. Gale." She said happily.

"Thank you Aislynn." Em said smiling.

"You know, your friends are really happy that you are walking again." Glinda said looking over to her.

"I'm happy as well." Dorothy said chuckling

"Hey sis, did I tell you Dorothy has never participated in a snowball fight?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Oh really? Why don't you bring her to the local park tomorrow?" Glinda asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no, not you too." Dorothy said rolling her eyes.

Everyone laughed heartily, Dorothy smiled weakly and held out her and to receive the scepter. As it floated to her hand it began to glow a light teal color and the image of a snowball formed in the middle around the red haze. Glinda chuckled and smiled.

"Even the scepter encourages it." Glinda said chuckling.

"Oh right, Glinda, the wheelchair." Dorothy said.

"What about it?" Glinda asked curiously.

"What am I going to do with it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I say keep it." Ellie said.

"Whys that?" Em asked worriedly.

"Because, once was an accident, he didn't intend to inhibit Dorothy's ability to walk, but now she can walk again, what's to stop him from doing it again as a jest?" Ellie and Glinda said in unison, laughing after they finished.

"Oh, good point, When the snow stops henry and I will dig up the door to the storm cellar, we can keep it in there." Em said.

Dorothy smiled and then got up. Taking her empty plate with her she walked into the kitchen.

"Dorothy?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Yes ace?" Dorothy replied.

"Would you please participate in a snowball fight? For me?" She asked teasingly.

"Ace, if I said no, oh fine." Dorothy said giving up at this point.

Dorothy then walked into the kitchen and placed her plate in the sink. The scepter returned to its normal glow. She then sighed and turned around. Grabbing the scepter, she walked out the kitchen just as the clock struck eight.

"I think I'm going to turn in early." she said stretching.

"That's unlike you Dorothy, are you alright?" Em asked curiously.

"Yea, I'm just tired." She said walking to her bedroom.

"Well, good night Dorothy." Em said.

"Goodnight Dorothy." Everyone else said.

Dorothy smiled and yawned. She then walked to her room, when she got there she leaned the scepter against her dresser and then took out a night gown. She the then changed into it. Soon she was in bed and ready to fall asleep when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

"Come in." She said.

The door opened and Glinda walked in. She smiled and walked over to the bed.

"I wanted to say that I'm going to visit my parent's so I'm saying goodnight." She said kissing Dorothy on the forehead.

"Goodnight, actually Glinda can I ask you a question?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure, what is it?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Years ago, you told me not to let the witch get her hands on the ruby slippers, but the jester could only either his sisters wands or the scepter but not both at the same time…" Dorothy said before Glinda raised her hand to cut her off.

"And you were wondering if those rules would apply to both the slippers and the scepter?" Glinda asked raising an eyebrow

"Correct." Dorothy said smiling.

"No, that's why I was worried about it, combined the scepter and slippers would be a power that not even I could control, they were of no threat with jester because he could not, nor could I possibly think he would ever think trying to use them would work with him, you know, given the whole outfit thing." Glinda said chuckling.

"The fact that he can't remove it?" Dorothy asked.

"Exactly, actually summon the scepter over here, I want to show you something." Glinda said pulling out her own wand.

Dorothy smiled and held out her hand, the scepter flew directly to her. Glinda nodded and brought her wand towards the scepter. To Dorothy's surprise sparks arched between them. Glinda quickly pulled the wand away and it vanished from sight.

"What was that?" Dorothy asked letting go of the scepter.

"It's hard to explain, but the same thing would happen if I brought both of my wands together, it only works with some objects though, keeps them from coming into contact, until they do, then well…" She said shuddering.

Dorothy then yawned and stretched. Glinda smiled and got up, waving her hand she turned off the lights. She then leaned over and kissed Dorothy on the forehead again. She then smiled and walked to the door and looked back at Dorothy.

"Sleep well, and good luck." Glinda said softly

"With what?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Your snowball fight." Glinda said walking out and shutting the door.

Dorothy rolled her eyes in annoyance and closed her eyes. The next thing she knew she was asleep. She was awoken by the feeling of Toto licking her on the face. She opened her eyes to find Toto sitting on her chest.

"You hungry boy?" Dorothy asked sitting up.

"Yes, but I was told to get you up." He replied happily.

"Ellie?" Dorothy asked only assuming.

"Everyone." He said as the clock struck seven.

Dorothy sighed and got up. She then changed into a teal shirt and a matching dress. Grabbing the scepter she walked out of her room, gave a stretching yawn, and then walked to the dining room. She was surprised to find that Alex was standing there with Aislynn and Ellie, all three of them were already to go. Dorothy smiled as she was tossed an apple by Ellie. Dorothy walked over to Alex and hugged him tightly.

"How, no why, are you here?" Dorothy asked curiously and concerned.

"Ellie and Glinda brought me here, Glinda is waiting for my parents to awaken." Alex said returning the embrace.

Dorothy then broke from the embrace and took a bite from the apple. Auntie Em then emerged from the kitchen.

"Auntie Em, did you know about this?" Dorothy asked referring to Alex.

"I organized it." Em said chuckling.

Dorothy was about to say something but the phone rang. Em put up a hand and ran over to it. As she picked it up Glinda appeared in front of them.

"It must be my parents." Alex said as Glinda changed her outfit into winter clothing.

"Glinda, you're joining us?" Dorothy asked surprised.

"Yes." She said smiling.

Dorothy giggled and turned around. Running into the living room she grabbed her boots from by the radiator. They were slightly warmer and dry as a bone. She pulled them on and they took a large bite out of the apple. Alex walked in and helped Dorothy with her jacket. Dorothy finished the rest of the apple in two bites. She tossed it into a nearby wastepaper basket and zipped up her coat. Dorothy was then dragged by her wrist to the door and led outside. Dorothy didn't even have time to react to anything, she was hit in the side of the head with a snowball, and it struck her with a nice 'Piff' sound.

"Hey!" Dorothy said looking over to Glinda.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." She said chuckling.

Dorothy smiled and tightened her grip on the scepter. It glowed brightly and everyone put a hand on it. The next thing Dorothy knew, colors were whizzing by her and they appeared in the park. It looked like people were already there and had set up snow forts in order hide behind them. Alex smiled and placed his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Immediately his old cronies appeared from behind the snow forts looking about ready for an ambush, people then started running in from all over.

"Why is there an adult here!?" one of Alex's old cronies asked in disgust.

"She, is joining the battle today, now I want even teams, rules are the usual." He said taking on the tone of a military commander.

"Why is the goody-two-shoes here?" Another one of them asked.

"Shut up, she's joining the fight as well, come on Dorothy." He said taking her hand.

Ellie, ace, and Glinda walked over to the forts and joined people behind them. Alex took Dorothy over to one and then took cover. Making a few snowballs in advance he then handed one to Dorothy. She took it and ducked down next to Alex.

"On my count we get ready, aim, and fire, got it?" he said getting one ready.

"Got it." she said nervously.

"Okay then, alright, on my count!" He yelled.

"Got it!" everyone yelled

"Alright! Ready! Aim! FIRE!" He yelled taking a snowball, standing up quickly and lobbing it at the other side of the field.

Dorothy ducked and took cover. She looked at Alex nervously, then he looked at Ellie, Aislynn, and Glinda. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, Dorothy sighed and looked over the fort. She then heaved the snowball as hard as she could only to have fire returned at her in a pelting of snowballs. All hitting her with a rather loud 'Piff' hitting her mostly in the face causing it to sting.

Ellie and Glinda couldn't help falling over in a fit of laughter while Aislynn continued to toss the snowballs for them. Alex chuckled and wiped the snow off of her face and coat and pulled her back down.

"Never stay up longer than you have to." He said lobbing a snowball over the fort.

"Is it just me or does it seem to be everyone against us?" Ellie asked looking around.

Alex looked at her curiously, he then looked over the fort quickly and realized that it was true. He sat down and thought for a minute. He then came up with an idea.

"Okay! Let's make this like dodge ball, If you get hit you're out!" He yelled happily.

"Fire!" they heard as dozens of snowballs flew over and past them.

Alex slowly returned fire snowball by snowball, Ellie dodged and ducked, throwing snowballs and hitting people one by one, Glinda was doing the same. Soon the group on the sidelines began to grow and the snowballs came to a gradual stop.

"You guys still there!?" a group of the guys asked.

"Yes!" They all shouted back.

"Well we still have you outnumbered, 15 to 5." They said as the barrage started again.

Glinda got up and was about to throw a snowball when she was hit square in the face. She spat and snapped her fingers. She walked over to the sidelines and sat down with the rest of the kids on the benches of the park.

"One down." They said.

Alex smiled smugly and handed Dorothy a snowball. She smiled and nervously lobbed it over the fort. Alex laughed and handed Dorothy another snowball. She looked up, took the risk and lobbed it. She saw it hit one of the kids. Ellie still hadn't slipped up but soon Alex did. Dorothy ducked down again and crawled over to Ellie. The scepter followed out of sight, as soon as she was over to Ellie she and herself worked together. Soon it was two on two.

"Okay! We Surrender!" they said standing up.

"What, give up already!?" Ellie shouted.

They were about to respond when the sound of sirens were heard. Officer grey's police cruiser drove up to the sidewalk. He pulled over, got out and trudged through the snow towards Dorothy. He had a worried expression on his face.

"Officer Grey? Is something wrong?" Dorothy asked as Glinda, Aislynn, and Alex quickly trudged over.

"Dorothy, Ms. Glinda, we found something, but we really want to be sure about it, your aunt and uncle are already at the scene, you are all to come with me to the scene of what we found." He said helping Dorothy and Ellie up.

"What is it?" Ellie asked sounding concerned.

"I think its better I show you." He said leading all of them to the truck.

Dorothy grabbed the scepter which was still following her, and soon they were all in Officer Grey's truck, Dorothy got a really sinking feeling about what they may have found. She hoped she was wrong about it. 


	40. 2 problems, only one solved

**Disclaimer, you know it by now.**

They drove for a few blocks before they got to the lake. It had a barrier created by the police, not just of her town, but of others as well. She saw her aunt and uncle, she saw to her surprise that they were talking to aislynn's maids. She then looked at Aislynn who looked extremely worried. Glinda herself looked uneasy as well. Officer grey then stopped his truck and got out. Everyone followed suit and then walked over towards the scene. Her aunt and uncle ran over to her and embraced her tightly. They then turned her around towards the seen. Dorothy noticed now in the middle of the frozen lake that there was a large hole cut in the middle and men fishing something out.

"What did they find?" Dorothy asked looking at her aunt.

"They didn't, that women over there however did, she's one of our old school friends" She said pointing over to an ambulance.

Dorothy looked and saw the women sitting there, she was pale as a sheet, and she looked like she had just seen her worst fear. She then noticed the men pulling something out of the hole. Dorothy then began to feel sick and faint. Alex walked over and helped her keep her posture. The body was then loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled over to the ambulance. Officer grey ran over and stopped them before they loaded it onto the ambulance and then signaled for Dorothy, and the rest of them to come over. When they approached they found that the body was now covered with a white sheet. She then saw Mr. Greene, he noticed her and walked over. His eyes never met hers but they stayed focused on Aislynn with a worried expression.

"What we found may shock you." He said slowly raising the sheet.

What they saw when the sheet was removed made even Dorothy look away. It was the body of Mr. Diggs, still in the condition it was in when he died. She felt even sicker. She looked away.

"Grandfather!" Aislynn screamed in fright.

"Yes, one by one, we've been finding the bodies, even the worker that was kidnapped was found, and he's still alive, just completely loony now." He said taking out a handkerchief and placing it against his mouth.

"This is your fault." Aislynn said tonelessly.

"What?" they all asked in unison.

"This is your fault Dorothy," She said still toneless but looking at Dorothy angrily.

"Aislynn, don't say that, what the jester did was not her fault." Jessica said wrapping her arms around Aislynn.

"Yes it is, if she hadn't made an enemy out of the jester in the first place then he wouldn't be here, he wouldn't have done this!" she screamed out.

"Aislynn Susan Diggs!" Jessica exclaimed in surprise.

Dorothy didn't know what to do at this point. Aislynn had a point, Dorothy had made an enemy out of the jester herself. And he had done this because of her, and all to get at her. Ellie and Alex looked at Dorothy and realized what she was thinking.

"Dorothy, don't you dare believe that for one second." Ellie said finally saying something.

"Ellie please be quiet." Glinda said.

"Glinda, please take them away from here." Em said.

"So, this is, your niece." The women said through shallow breaths.

"Yes Eliza, this is our niece Dorothy, and that's Alex, he's the teaks boy." She said referring to Alex.

"Ah, the only male descendant of the Alistair family to date." Eliza said chuckling.

"It's a pleasure to meet you mam, you know my family?" He asked curiously.

"I went to school with them, just like I went to school with the gales." She replied.

"Mrs. Johnson please, you need to relax, come on let's get her to the hospital." One of the officers said leading her away.

"Where did Glinda go?" Jenny asked finally gathering the sense to say something.

"You know where they probably went." Em said looking at Dorothy and Alex.

"Oh right, Dorothy, if I were you I'd leave ace alone for a few hours or up to a few days, after this, she's going to need a cool down." Jenny said.

"Right, anyways, I think I need a bucket, I'm beginning to feel a bit dizzy." Dorothy said as her head began to swim.

Dorothy looked at Alex and before she could even comprehend what was going on she fainted and was out like a light. She awoke maybe an hour later to find herself in her bedroom in the emerald city. The scepter floating within reach. She sat up and grabbed it and realized she was now no longer wearing her coat or her boots, but now in her usual dress. She got up and stretched a bit. She then noticed that her hair ribbon with her keys on it were sitting on the bed side table with a note attached.

"Figured these would come in handy, yours truly, Ellie." She read aloud.

She smiled and placed the keys around her neck, she then walked out of her room and immediately ran into Alyssa.

"Oh, Dorothy, I was just coming to check on you, it's good to see you back to normal completely." She said hugging Dorothy tightly.

"I know, how's Terrance?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He's fine, he's in the chambers trying to help consul Aislynn, but she won't listen." Alyssa said worriedly.

"She won't, her maid said that she'll need a bit of a cool down." Dorothy said walking around Alyssa.

She then broke into a run, she ran as fast as her legs would allow her, and soon she was in the chambers. Everyone looked at her, she looked over at Aislynn who was sitting on the throne, her face stained with tears. She walked over to the scarecrow and hugged him tightly.

"Please, take her to the library, tell the others not to follow, she'll not want to be followed by anyone else." She whispered to him.

He said nothing, he merely nodded. He then walked over to Aislynn and took her hand. She went with him willingly. Taking only a moment to throw an angry look at Dorothy. She then followed the scarecrow out of the room. No one followed, they just looked at Dorothy curiously.

"Library?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes." Dorothy said looking at the door to the chambers.

"Dorothy, I know Aislynn is putting a lot of the blame on you, but you mustn't believe it, it isn't…" The china princess started to say before Dorothy raised a hand to cut her off.

"I've already heard this speech, but thank you princess." Dorothy said searching her pockets.

"What are you looking for?" Wiser asked walking into the room carrying tons of food.

"A pad of paper and a pen, I thought I might have one in my pockets, you guys celebrate Christmas here right?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Correct, ever since the wizard introduced it." Marshal Mallow said.

"Good, I want to make a list of things I can get you guys." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, you know we'll like anything you get us." Tin man said, everyone nodded in agreement.

"So you are the ever famous Dorothy gale." Terrance said walking over.

"Yes I am, and this is what I truly look like." She said curtseying.

"Oh right, Dorothy, your coat and boots are in your closet." Ellie said.

"Thanks Ellie, where's Elena?" Dorothy asked noticing that though Alyssa was now in the chambers that her sister was strangely absent.

"She's at Brianna's ice cream shop, even though its winter ice cream is still popular." Ellie said.

"Dorothy dear, why don't you go for a swim, I know the water in the pool has been warmed up for the winter months." Glinda said calmly.

Dorothy looked at Glinda and smiled. She then nodded and left the chambers. As soon as she was gone everyone gathered around the throne where Glinda now sat.

"I don't think she's listening." Alyssa said

"I know, she looks perfectly fine, but the eyes there's sadness and regret now." Glinda said.

"Well, she did make a powerful enemy out of the jester." Terrance said.

"Terrance, shut up." Alyssa said.

"Yes dear." He said hanging his head.

"But she still believes it's her fault that the jester is doing this, and though I won't deny that in a way, it is, I mean if your sister's were killed, and you got the chance to take power would you still be a little ticked off that it had to happen through their deaths, wouldn't you want at least a little scrap of revenge?" Alex asked curiously.

"Good point." The china princess said thinking about it.

"And yet she hides her sorrow by keeping a cheery mood, which reminds me, what should we get her for Christmas?" Ellie asked.

"Good question, what do you get a girl who does so much for others, yet hardly asks for anything in return?" The princess asked.

"Good point, what would she want more than anything in the world?" Ellie asked looking at Alex.

"To tell you the truth even I don't know." Alex said.

"Wait did you say truth?" Glinda asked.

"Glinda no, you know yourself that knowing the full truth about someone hurts." Ellie said.

Glinda was about to say something when Alison came in panting and wheezing. She had ran all the way there it seemed.

"Glinda, the spell, its spread, Munchkin River." She said before collapsing against the door to catch her breath.

"Oh sweet oz." Glinda said waving her hand towards the crystal ball.

It immediately began glowing and showed the munchkin river. Now grey and still as the munchkin city. She sight and walked towards the door where Dorothy was waiting worriedly.

"Glinda, No!" Dorothy said grabbing Glinda's wrist.

Glinda pulled out of Dorothy's grasp and looked at her sadly. She then started towards her room. Ellie, Alex and Dorothy following closely behind. They got to Glinda's room and she immediately walked over to the bookstand where the Grimmerie was sitting. Ellie saw the book and gasped.

"Glinda, that's not? Those spells are forbidden!" Ellie shouted.

"Ellie, there is one that is mean for the soul protection of Oz." Glinda said taking the book and walking out.

The scepter glowed brightly in the presence of the book now. Dorothy looked at Glinda worriedly, Alison then came in and whispered something to Ellie. She looked at her sister curiously.

"Ellie, as this spell I'm about to use will knock me unconscious for days, you must take my place as ruler over the northern domain while I am unable." Glinda said walking out of the room.

"Glinda!" Alison shouted.

Dorothy said not a word but she ran after Glinda. They walked along the way that she didn't recognize, and soon they were ascending a large spiraling flight of stairs. Soon Alison, Alex, and Ellie caught up to them and they arrived at what looked like the top of a tall tower.

"Sis, mom and dad would never approve of this!" Ellie screamed.

"Alison, take Ellie away from here!" Glinda shouted.

Ellie looked at her sister with a look that Dorothy was not accustom to seeing with Ellie. It was a look of fear. She reluctantly followed Alison down the stairs of the tower. Dorothy looked at Alex and signaled him to go as well. He nodded and ran after them. Glinda then conjured up a plinth and set the book down on it.

"Dorothy, once the spell is done I want you to take the Grimmerie back to my room." Glinda said opening the book.

"Glinda, I cannot allow you to do this, find another way, get the Nome king to help, just don't do this!" Dorothy shouted.

Glinda didn't respond, she just began reading out of the book in some language that Dorothy couldn't decipher. The clouds above them began darken as the spell was performed. Glinda's hands then began to glow. One with a blue light and the other with a sparkling yellow. The light began to rise and dance into the air. Her reading became a chant and the wind began to pick up. Dorothy shiver and ducked down. Shivering at both the feeling of the wind and the feeling of the stone against her bare feet. Glinda began chanting louder and faster as the lights began to glow brighter.

"_Yes, the spell now binds, and soon it shall be complete!"_ came the voice of the jester in a whisper.

Dorothy looked up at Glinda who continued the chant, almost in an unbreakable trance. The wind then whipped around them both and the scepter began to glow brighter than ever. Dorothy closed her eyes and shivered, she then knelt down and tightened her grasp over the scepter. The chanting then stopped but the wind continued. Dorothy looked up to see Glinda floating about an inch off the ground, wisps of an emerald green light emanating from her body.

"In the name of the protection of Oz, I preform this spell for the first time, to protect this land for all that is in the name of good!" She shouted.

A surge of energy them erupted from her sending the shockwave to all four corners of Oz. the wind then began to die down. Dorothy then quickly got up and ran over to Glinda, catching her and she floated to the ground and collapsed unconscious. She let go of the scepter and used her free hand to grab the Grimmerie. Alex then ran back up the stairs and over to Dorothy. He then took Glinda from Dorothy and carefully set her down on the ground. Dorothy knelt down and placed her ear over Glinda's mouth. Her breathing had become shallow, but she was alive. She gave a sigh of relief as Elena and Alison ran up to them.

"Get her to the sickbay." Elena said sternly.

Alison quickly preformed a spell and her hands began to glow. She looked at Dorothy and smiled, she then looked over to the scepter to see its bright glow once again dim.

"Thank goodness you stayed up here, the scepters power protected both you and her from the full effects of being at the center point of the energy, she'll only be out for at least three days, at most a week" Alison said as her hands stopped glowing.

"That's a relief." Dorothy said as the scepter floated over to them.

Dorothy smiled and picked it up. She then got up and with the scepter and Grimmerie in hand she walked down the stairs of the tower followed by Alex. They were met halfway by Ellie who was sitting on the steps crying. Dorothy sat down next to Ellie and hugged her tightly.

"Go away!" Ellie shouted loudly.

"Dorothy, I think you'd best go back to the chambers." Alex said sighing.

Dorothy nodded and got up, she then walked down the rest of the stairs and retraced her steps to get back to Glinda's room.

_Meanwhile at the jester's hideout._

The jester was laughing wickedly, dancing around the crystal ball.

"Now that was fun." He said chuckling and letting the crystal go dark.

He then looked over at the cauldron which was now bubbling. The mixture inside was now black as onyx and the color was beginning to change.

"Soon the mixture will be complete and when it turns bright gold by the years end I will add the final ingredient." He said cackling as lightning flashed behind him.

_Meanwhile in the emerald city library._

Everyone who was in the emerald city felt the tremor of the blast. Nothing was damaged the scarecrow knew what the true cause was. He looked out the window worriedly as the clouds now finally returned to normal. He then looked at Aislynn who was still crying. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in calming tone.

"I want something to read." She said not meeting his gaze.

Scarecrow sighed and walked over to the shelves. He then grabbed a book and brought it over to Aislynn. She quickly took it and began reading. Not saying a word.

"Where's Dorothy?" she asked trying to hold back her tears.

"I don't know, given what just happened she could be anywhere." He replied.

"I yelled at her, said that it was her fault for what happened, I feel bad about it now." She said.

"Yes, that will happen to people sometimes." He replied ruffling aislynn's hair.

Aislynn giggled and got up. She then hugged the scarecrow tightly.

"Can you go look for her, I want to apologize." She asked.

"Apology accepted." Dorothy said wiping tears from her own face.

"Dorothy! What's wrong?" Aislynn asked breaking from the embrace with scarecrow and running over to Dorothy.

"Glinda, she's asleep now, for a few days." Dorothy said wrapping her arms around Aislynn.

"Oh my, is Ellie okay?" Scarecrow asked.

"She's mad at me now I think, Alex is trying to console her." Dorothy said sadly.

"Dorothy where is she?" Aislynn asked

"She's currently at the tower, scarecrow I'm sure you know the way?" Dorothy said.

Scarecrow nodded and led Aislynn off. Dorothy then tightened her grip on the scepter and walked towards the chambers. When she got there she found Alison waiting there alone.

"Everyone is at the sickbay with Glinda. Ellie is still on the stairs to the tower, and Alex is also now in the sickbay." Alison said.

"What happened?" Dorothy asked sounding concerned

"Ellie punched him in the face, he's fine, just has a black eye." Alison said walking over to Dorothy.

"Ellie's really upset then?" Dorothy asked sadly.

"Only because she's been forced into a position she didn't want to be in." Alison said.

"How are Aislynn, Alex, and I getting home?" Dorothy asked trying to quickly change the subject.

"Without Glinda here I cannot do the magic, basically unless we either get the rainbow mover working again or Glinda awakens you guys are stuck here." Alison said sadly.

"Well that's terrific." Dorothy said sarcastically.

"I know, isn't it?" The princess asked walking in.

"Oh, hello china princess, did you need something?" Alison asked bowing.

"Actually my husband and I have decided to take Dorothy on a bit of an outing, Dorothy, Marshal Mallow has gone to your room to fetch your boots and jacket." The princess said taking out her pendant and putting it on and growing to her larger size.

Dorothy walked over to the china princess and looked up at her with a confused look. At this point she had no idea what was going on and what the heck she was going to do to fix this problem.


	41. An outing with dorothy

**Disclaimer, well you get it by now.**

As soon as Mallow arrived with Dorothy's stuff as well as carrying a picnic basket. It was then Dorothy knew one thing. They were going on a picnic, and that was all she knew. She set down the scepter and pulled on her boots, as she did this she looked up at them curiously.

"Why?" she asked.

"Marshal and I have actually been planning this for a while, we just didn't know when to do it." The princess said helping Dorothy up.

"Oh, how long?" Dorothy asked.

"Um since the wedding." The princess and Marshall mallow said in unison.

"Wow, that's a long time." Alison said chuckling from the back of the room.

"Thanks dear, love you too." The princess said giggling.

"Come on dear, let's take Dorothy on our picnic dear." He said walking over and helping Dorothy with her coat.

"Right dear, come on lets head to Tugg." The princess said happily.

"Where are we going?" Dorothy asked curiously as she grabbed the scepter.

"It's a surprise." The princess said in a sing-song tone.

Dorothy giggled and followed as they walked out towards Tugg. It had snowed in Oz as well, just not as much as it had in Kansas. She gasped in awe at the sight as they walked towards the docks.

"Oz always looks so beautiful after a small dusting of snow." The princess said looking at Dorothy.

"I'll say, I wish I had a camera." She replied.

"You could draw it, or sketched." Marshal mallow said.

"Good idea, and since I'm stuck here until Glinda awakens, I'll have plenty of time." She said.

"Right, Alison mentioned that while they were bringing Glinda to the sickbay, though it's more of a medical wing." Marshall Mallow said as they arrived at the docks to find Tugg waiting there for them. He smiled and laughed heartily.

"Good Morning China princess, Marshall, and Dorothy my dear, how are you?" he asked happily.

"I'm wonderful Tugg, how have you been?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Quite well." He said as they embarked.

As they were floating up the munchkin river Dorothy began to wonder if anyone else was in on the plan. She then walked over to the wheel and sat down next to it. Watching the snow dusted scenery pass them by she marveled at the beauty of the land. But she still wondered where they were headed for the picnic after them past the clearing. She then set the scepter down and got up. Walking over to the couple who hadn't said anything to her since they got on the boat.

"Any hints?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"No my dear, that would ruin the surprise, anyways, Tugg when we get there can you wait there till we get back?" The Princess asked curiously.

"Sure, but do you plan on walking the rest of the way?" Tugg asked.

"Yes Tugg it's not like it's that far of a distance between." The princess said happily.

"That is true." He said.

"Tugg, how much farther do you think?" Marshal Mallow asked curiously.

"A few more miles I should think, I mean we're going against the current." He said looking forward.

"To bad we didn't bring Glinda's map." The princess said sighing.

"But then, through logic, Dorothy could look at it and find out where we are headed my dear." Marshall said looking at his wife.

"Good point, oh doesn't that place bring back memories." The princess said pointing over to a river bank.

Dorothy looked over to it. It looked like just a normal river bank to her, she didn't know why she should remember it. She then looked and saw what looked like a newly repaired bridge. It was then that it struck her.

"This is where we built Tugg." Dorothy said and they passed by it.

"That is correct, Tugg, dock us by the bridge." Marshall said.

"Yes sir." He said stopping at the edge of the bank.

Dorothy smiled and held out her hand for the scepter. It floated into her hand and they disembarked. Soon they were on land and passing by the talking trees, they were silent and looked as if they were asleep. It was then Dorothy realized what direction they were headed. They were headed towards the China country, but it didn't seem like kind of a place where even the princess would go for a picnic.

"Are we headed to china county?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"We're going through it, which reminds me, I should really have them build a channel through the country so we can dock there next time dear." The princess said looking at her husband.

"There is one near my home, the problem is when the jester showed up the first time it was blocked up by a boulder." Marshall said.

"Ah, we'll see to that, my crafters are great with stone, it's not much different from China or porcelain, it's just harder, that and we don't have too much stone there so I don't allow them to work with it that often." The princess said as they arrived at the gate to china country.

"Wait a minute." Dorothy said stopping behind them having just thought of something.

"What is it Dorothy?" they both asked.

"Are we going to Candy County?" Dorothy asked.

"Correct my dear, Open the gates!" The princess shouted.

Soon the gates to the country creaked open and they were in the beautiful china country, the place was literally buzzing with activity of people setting up holiday ornament, not just Christmas ones but ones for various holidays as well. This struck Dorothy as odd but the china princess decided to explain.

"You didn't think that the wizard only introduced us to just Christmas do you? No that would be silly, the wizard introduced us to all of your world's silly holidays." The princess said gesturing around as her old butler came up to her and did a low bow.

"Your majesty, it is a pleasure to see you again, the city is a bit shaken after a tremor, we thought we should report that." He said getting up from the bow.

"Everyone felt it, I kind of figured." She said curtseying.

"Okay then, I shall allow you on your passage through the city, and hello your marshmallow-ness, and miss gale." He said bowing at both of them.

"Just call me mallow, or marshal, or Marshal Mallow." Marshal replied giving a quick bow.

"And please, it's just Dorothy." Dorothy said curtseying.

"Yes your majesty, and yes Miss Dorothy." He said bowing at both of them again.

The three of them shared a laugh for a minute then continued on their way. Soon they were out of china country and on their way to Candy County. As they walked along the scenery began to change fast. Soon after maybe about ten minutes they were at the border to Candy County.

"First we must make a stop in town before we go to the picnic spot, Judge jawbreaker and General Candy Apple requested to see you at some point." Marshal mallow said leading them to the town.

"You know last time I was in this town I was getting arrested because of the jester's trick." Dorothy said as they arrived at the court house.

"Is that the castle they are building for us over there?" the princess asked.

"You mean the one that we'll likely never use?" Marshal mallow asked in response.

"Yes." The princess replied.

"Then yes, it's the only castle in Candy County." Marshall said as they entered the court house.

"Dorothy Gale." Came two voices in unison and then a loud applause.

Dorothy smiled and saw that she was expected as a visitor and people seemed to be waiting for them to arrive. She saw General candy apple and Judge Jawbreaker at the head of the court house.

"Hello judge jawbreaker." Dorothy said walking up to the judges stand.

"Hello Dorothy gale." General candy apple said walking over and saluting.

"General Candy Apple." Dorothy said returning the salute.

"How have you been?" They both asked in unison.

"I've been good, Shouldn't you be greeting your king and queen, its only proper." Dorothy said referring to Marshall Mallow and the china princess.

"Spoken like a true leader." General candy apple said walking over to the rulers.

He saluted to Marshall Mallow who returned the salute, then he bowed to the china princess who curtseyed back. He then escorted them to the head of the court house.

"I assume you are here for the picnic you've been planning for years?" Judge jawbreaker asked referring to the picnic basket.

"Correct, and I think we'll be using the spot near the Hot chocolate geyser." Marshall said looking at the map.

"Oh good spot, it's always active in the winter months, you know we got an order from a shop in the emerald city for chocolate from the geyser." General candy apple said pulling out a slip of paper with an official seal from the emerald city on it.

Marshall took it and read through it, he chuckled and handed it to his wife. She to read it and chuckled, dropping it in the process. Dorothy picked it up and read it, she too couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know the person who wrote it?" Judge Jawbreaker asked.

"Know them, she's one of Glinda's soldiers, she owns an ice cream parlor just inside the emerald city business district." Marshall Mallow said regaining his composure.

"So should we deny the order then?" General candy apple asked.

"No, that's the opposite of what you should do, if I had known that she knew about the geyser I would have sent the order myself." Marshall Mallow said pulling a stamp out of his pocket and taking the paper from Dorothy.

He then stamped the words 'Order Approved' on the paper and handed it to General Candy apple who saluted and immediately marched off to get the order fulfilled. Marshal mallow chuckled and then led Dorothy and the china princess to the back door of the court house.

"I see that toffee apple trees are coming in nicely." The princess said walking over to one and taking an apple.

"Hey china Princess, there's a law isn't there?" Dorothy asked confused.

"When she and I married, our kingdoms made a deal that people of Candy County could get fine chinaware from China Country, and people of china country could get candy from here in Candy County." Marshall Mallow said.

"Oh, where was I when this happened?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"You didn't stick around long enough, General Candy apple suggested it the day after you left." Marshal mallow replied.

"Oh." Was all Dorothy could say?

They walked along for what was probably about a half hour before they ended up in what looked like a forest of trees with marshmallows of many shapes and sizes as leaves and fruit. Dorothy then felt the ground vibrate beneath her. She braced herself and jammed the end of the scepter into the ground, leaning against it.

"Don't worry, it's just the geyser, we're not far from it now." Marshall said as they walked through the forest.

"Marshall gave me an entire thermos full of the chocolate from the geyser for our anniversary, it's really good." The princess said plucking a marshmallow leaf from the one of the trees and examining it curiously.

"Is something wrong dear?" Marshall asked curiously.

"The marshmallows take many shapes and sizes as leaves and fruits to even regular marshmallow shapes, why is that?" The princess asked holding up the marshmallow leaf in front of her and comparing it to a leaf on a nearby branch.

"I think it's just for variety." He replied having never actually thought about it.

"Oh is that the geyser?" Dorothy asked pointing to a large spout of steaming chocolate erupting out of the ground.

"Yes, that's it, and there's general candy apple collecting the chocolate into our insulated shipping containers." He said as they got to where the general was standing.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would show up." He said chuckling.

"Have we cleared the channel to the munchkin river yet?" Marshall asked curiously.

"We have people from china country helping us, we should be through it in maybe a few days, apparently your people have a stash of stone cutting tools you never let them use?" General candy apple said looking at the china princess.

"What would be the point? I mean its china country, not masonry land." She said chuckling.

"The only stone in china country is the bricks of the yellow brick road." Marshal mallow said walking over to a clearer spot and setting up the picnic blanket.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to damage those." General candy apple said sealing one of the containers.

"Exactly." The princess said holding up the leaf to another tree.

"It's always like that." General Candy apple said.

"Yea, my husband explained that." She said.

"I figured, oh, Dorothy, I almost forgot." He said walking over to her and handing her what looked like an identification card made out of several candy wrappers layered and laminated together.

"What's this?" Dorothy asked looking the card over.

"Turn it over again." He said.

Dorothy did this and gasped at what she saw. The card now had a picture of her face on it in the corner and it read 'Honorary citizen' writing in large friendly letters.

"You are an honorary citizen of Candy County, as thanks for helping bring the two lands together." He said saluting.

Dorothy smiled and put the card in her dress pocket. She then took a quick smell of the air. The aromas were amazing, a mix of chocolate, marshmallows and mint. The geyser then sent out another large eruption of hot chocolate. In turn causing Dorothy to back away.

"Good idea, we don't call it a hot chocolate geyser because it's cold." Marshal mallow said walking back over having set up the picnic.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to your picnic." General candy apple said loading a container onto a cart that he had parked just at the edge of the clearing and then pushing it away.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to the picnic spot. On the blanket was a large plate of a variety of sandwiches, a large bowl of fruit salad, a thermos, and some tea cups. Soon the three of them were sat down around the blanket and eating.

"You are also an honorary citizen of china country as well." The china princess said opening the thermos and pouring some tea into one of the cups and handing it to Dorothy.

"Why?" Dorothy asked taking the cup and taking a sip.

"Because, we all love you here, and it's our thanks." The princess said.

"You guys know you don't have to do anything for me." Dorothy replied.

"You know, you constantly say that, but surely, there has to be something you want in return for all the kindness you give." The princess said pouring herself a cup of tea.

Dorothy shook her head and then grabbed a sandwich. Taking a bite she then smiled and looked at both of them.

"Dorothy, surely, even the most generous of people every once in a while ask for something in return for their kindness." Marshall Mallow said.

"Nope." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy." The china princess said sighing.

"Princess, I do what I do either on accident, meaning the deaths of the witches of the east and west, or because I care about all of you, such as our first encounter with the jester and the last one we had, and I love you guys all of you, but I'll most likely never ask for anything in return." Dorothy said finishing her tea and the sandwich.

"I think we should change the subject." Marshmallow said pulling out a small plate of cookies from and candied fruits from the picnic basket.

"Now, tell me my dear husband, have you ever had crystalized ginger? I hear its quite good." The princess asked smiling.

"I myself have not tried it, I know we have a grove somewhere on the farther side of candy county, it's maintained by some fruit stripped candies." He said offering the plate to Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and took the plate, helping herself to a cookie and two pieces of candied fruit. She then passed the plate to the princess. Marshmallow then pulled out an empty thermos from the picnic basket and walked over to the geyser just as it erupted again. He held out the thermos allowing for the chocolate to splash in, and as soon as he accomplished this he walked back over and filled Dorothy's tea cup.

"Try it, it's really good." The princess whispered into her ear.

Dorothy nodded and picked up the cup. It was considerably warmer but still she lightly blew across the top and took a sip. It was some of the best hot chocolate she had ever tasted, not like the watered down stuff they served at breakfast diners, but real chocolate. It tasted rich and really sweet. She sighed in content and carefully set down her cup.

"It's some of the best I've ever tasted, thank you marshal." She said smiling.

"I'm glad you like it, you're welcome." He said filling his wife's cup

"Thank you Marshal." She said downing the entire cup in one go.

"Dear, remember what happened the last time you did that." Marshal Mallow said chuckling.

"I had indigestion for a week, so what?" she asked.

"Never mind dear." Marshal said not wanting to start an argument.

"I wonder how Ellie is doing." The china princess said.

"I'm assuming she still pretty miffed, I mean, she has to take care of her sister's domain while her sister is in the sickbay." Dorothy said, her tone going to one of sadness.

"Dorothy, oh I wish I hadn't brought it up." The princess said placing a hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

"No, no, it's alright, I don't mind, it's just that through some of my actions I end up upsetting the people I care about." Dorothy said lying down on her back and looking at the clouds.

"Dorothy, we all do that every now and again." Marshal mallow said.

"Do you and the princess upset each other sometimes?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, I'm often upset at something." The princess said.

"But at marshal mallow?" Dorothy asked.

"Well, no, but…" The princess said as Dorothy cut her off.

"Exactly." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy that's not the point, I mean, what about Alyssa and Elena, they upset each other and they care about each other, and Glinda preformed that spell with knowledge that it would upset her sister when she found out." The princess said.

Dorothy looked at the china princess and then sighed. She wasn't in the mood to argue, she then grabbed the scepter and ate the cookie she had grabbed as well as the candied fruit. She then got up and dusted off her jacket. She then walked over to the trees that they had come from. She leaned against one and sighed. She then looked at the scepter which had taken on its usual glow. She stared into the orb and looked at the red haze which still hadn't faded from it. She looked over at Marshal Mallow and the princess who were now packing up the leftovers into the basket. When they were done they walked over to Dorothy and the princess placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on my dear, it's about three o'clock now." The princess said as marshal mallow led them out of the forest.

Dorothy smiled as they walked along, soon they were back at the court house. Marshall walked over to general apple and was finalizing Brianna's order, how it was to be delivered to the emerald city, and that when the channel was finally clear that he would try to establish trade of the candies that they do ship out and have a candy shop established. No one was in argument with it. And soon after everything was established they were on their way out of Candy County and back to china country so they could return to Tugg, and back to the city.


	42. Back in the city

**Disclaimer, you know.**

When they had gotten back to the emerald city Dorothy found alexAlex waiting for her in the chambers. She hugged him tightly. She handed her jacket to him and then went to her room. sheShe constantly looked back to make sure no one followed her. whenWhen she got back to her room she shut and locked the door behind her and ran over to her bed and sat down. She set the scepter down next to her, she then pulled off her boots and set them next to her bed and lay down. She sighed and closed her eyes hoping she could fall asleep. This failed and she eventually sat up and looked around. She then got up and walked over to the desk and rummaged through it eventually finding a few pencils and a few pieces of paper. She then sat down at the desk and began sketching what was outside the window. She sketched out the entire snow covered landscape. She soon finished and then got up to admire her handiwork. She looked at the clock in the room and realized it was now five o'clock and the sun had almost completely set. She hadn't noticed the sun had started setting in the first place but she shrugged this off and walked over to the bed where the scepter had started floating. She was about to grab it when she heard a knock on her door.

"Dorothy? Can I come in?" came the voice of Elena.

Dorothy sighed and picked up the scepter, waving it in the direction of the door she heard the lock click and Elena opened the door and walked in shutting it behind her.

"Did you need something?" Dorothy asked as Elena walked over.

"Actually we were wondering if you wanted anything." Elena said.

"Not really, why?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Dorothy can I talk to you?" Elena asked sitting down on the bed.

"Depends, what about?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Ellie." Elena replied.

"Is it that I should apologize to her for not doing something to stop her sister?" Dorothy asked a bit upset.

"No, nothing like that, she's actually wanted to apologize to you for snapping, but she didn't think you'd be in the mood to see her at the time being, since you locked yourself in here." Elena said looking at the door.

"Elena, Ellie should know that no matter what, no matter how hard things gets she can always talk to me." Dorothy said.

"So you aren't angry with her?" Elena asked excitedly.

"No, if anything she should be upset with me, I've known about the spell since I became wheelchair bound." Dorothy said.

"Alex explained that." Elena said still looking at the door.

"Ellie, come in, Alex you to!" Dorothy shouted

Ellie and Alex slowly walked in, Ellie looked rather guilty, Alex looked rather, well like himself, and he was rubbing at his black eye. Ellie ran over to Dorothy and hugged her tightly, starting to cry.

"Dorothy, I'm so, so, sorry." She said crying.

"Ellie, you know I couldn't stay mad at you guys, let alone get mad at you in the first place." She said hugging Ellie tightly.

They hugged for a few minutes and then broke from the embrace. She then walked over to Alex and hugged him as well. Soon they broke from the embrace and Dorothy looked at Ellie again.

"Do you need any help being a ruler?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes, but the china princess said she would assist me, but I still want my best friend by me side while I'm doing it and I hope it's only for three days instead of the entire week." Ellie said wiping her tears from her face.

"Ellie, don't worry, you'll do great." Elena said getting up.

"Thanks Elena, now go get some food for Dorothy please, Dorothy you missed dinner, we ate early, the princess said she knocked by no one answered." Ellie said.

"Yes mam." Elena said laughing and starting for the door.

Dorothy simply nodded and then laughed at Elena's remark. She looked at Ellie who had gone completely red in the face. This made Alex laugh hysterically. Dorothy walked over to Ellie and hugged her again, her color returned to normal and she looked at Dorothy.

"She knows I hate that, I said if I ever end up in Glinda's position, not to call me mam, just treat me like she would normal, plain old, Ellie." Ellie said looking at the door.

"Ellie, remember no matter what happens, to me you can be just Ellie." Dorothy said breaking from the embrace.

"Thanks Dorothy, and alex?" Ellie asked.

"Yes Ellie?" He replied.

"I'm sorry for punching you." She said walking over to him.

"It's alright, I should have known better to go near you when you are upset." He said rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Right, but your intentions were good." Ellie said looking away from him.

"True, but that doesn't solve the matter that you were were upset." Alex said walking around her to meet her gaze.

"Alex, since you are Dorothy's friend and therefore mine, I must therefore apologize for my own actions as Dorothy would if she had done it herself." Ellie said looking up at him then looking away so she wouldn't have to see his black eye.

"Ellie, you don't want to look at his face though, you'd look at mine if you had blacked out my eye." Dorothy said placing a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"But you understand my actions, you would understand if I blacked out your eye, I'm not sure he understands me like he does you." Ellie said looking at her.

"Ellie, you know it doesn't matter, he's forgiven you for it." Dorothy said holding out her other hand for Alex to take.

"Oh, so this is where you guys are, Dorothy, you missed dinner." Came the voice of Aislynn.

"We established that Ace." Came the voice of Elena as walked in with a tray.

"Can I come in?" Aislynn asked.

Dorothy sighed and looked at Aislynn, then she realized something.

"Ace, you don't need to ask to come in, you're welcome here anytime you like, just knock first if the door is shut and locked, also, why aren't you having people refer to you as your majesty since you are the heir to the throne?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Same reason Ellie wants to be thought of as just plain, boring old Ellie, because I want to be the normal child that I am." Aislynn said as she walked in.

"See? I'm not the only one who has that reasoning." Ellie said as Elena handed the tray she was carrying to Dorothy.

Dorothy chuckled and then took the tray. Setting it down on the bed she opened it and revealed some nice smelling meatloaf, an apple, and what looked like a small bowl of handmade custard.

"It is custard, just in case you were curious." Elena said as she walked out of the room.

"Come on guys, let's let Dorothy eat in peace." Alex said leading both Aislynn and Ellie out of the room and shutting the door behind them.

Dorothy smiled and sat down on the bed. She then started eating, and about half an hour later she was done. She then picked up the tray and the scepter and walked over to the door. Waving the scepter in front of it, making it open, she then walked out of the room and towards the chambers. She then realized she had forgotten her boots, but she shrugged this off knowing she didn't really need them. When she got to chambers she found that no one was there, or at least she thought no one was there, for a crash was heard from the back. She quickly set the tray down on the throne and ran to the back of the room. She was surprised to find both Aislynn and scarecrow working on the rainbow mover, one the pipes from the rainbow mover had fallen off and now scarecrow and Aislynn were trying to throw it back into place.

"Would you two like some help?" Dorothy asked.

"No thank you Dorothy, it wouldn't be safe." The scarecrow replied looking at her and referring to the fact that she was barefoot.

"Right, where is everyone?" Dorothy asked.

"Sick bay." Aislynn said twisting the pipe back into place.

"Okay, where is the sick bay?" Dorothy asked.

"that's right, you haven't been there, wait there I'll get the map, it's best not to leave this thing alone with the condition its in." Scarecrow said jumping off the machine.

"No scarecrow, I can get there, I just remembered." Dorothy said letting go of the scepter allowing it to over.

"Dorothy, are you sure thatsthat's a good idea?" Aislynn asked concerned.

"Nope, to the sickbay FLY!" She shouted jumping onto the scepter as it flew off.

Dorothy new one thing for sure at this point, she definitely preferred flying over the transportation that Glinda provided, it was definitely less dizzying, but it still made her feel a bit sick but it wasn't as bad. She made note of the places she passed as they whizzed by. Soon she came to a halt in front of a door with a chalkboard on it that read, 'sick bay population 1 plus visitors'. Dorothy smiled at this, but then she noticed a small crest of an eagle in a nurses hat which made her chuckle, she then got off the scepter and started for door. She then entered in and found that it was really plain like the hospital that she had spent a good few days of her year. Unlike the hospital however it was almost devoid of life expect for her friends who were sitting at a table in the middle of the room and Glinda who was sleeping peacefully in one of the beds. She sighed and walked over to Glinda. Everyone turned and looked at her as she arrived at the bed. She then set down the scepter and knelt down at Glinda's side.

"Dorothy, I promise, she'll be fine." Alison said getting up from the table

"I know, I just, never mind." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter, getting up, and walking over to the table.

"Dorothy, is something wrong?" The princess asked curiously.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just, I just can't help but blame myself." Dorothy said sitting down in one of the free chairs.

"Dorothy! Why!?" Ellie asked sounding concerned.

"I've known about the spell for a long time, I sometimes I wonder whether or not I should have broken my word and told you about it Ellie, your parents could have stopped it." Dorothy said sadly.

"Dorothy, don't blame yourself, we all could have broken our word and told Ellie and Mr. and Mrs. Upland." The china princess said getting up from her chair, walking over to Dorothy and hugging her tightly.

"I know, but I can't help it." Dorothy said.

No one said a word at this remark, the china princess returned to her seat and Ellie and Alex got up and walked over to Dorothy, as did Alyssa and Terrance. Ellie embraced Dorothy tightly from behind and Alex placed a hand on Dorothy shoulder. Alyssa and Terrance knelt down next to her.

"Dorothy, please, don't blame yourself, we all could have done something." Alyssa said.

Dorothy wiped some tears from her eyes and looked around at her friends, she always felt comfort being surrounded by the people she loved and cared about. And these people cared about her. She smiled and pulled Ellie's arms from around her. She then got up and motioned for Alyssa and Terrance to stand up. As they did this Dorothy pulled the four of them that were surrounding her into a large group hug and chuckled.

"You know, it's hard to stay upset when I'm surrounded by you guys, it really is." Dorothy said.

"We're glad we can make you happy." Ellie said as they all broke from the embrace.

"Dorothy, you know it's not truly your fault, Glinda did it for the wellbeing of the land, and when Glinda is set on doing something your odds of stopping her drop almost too nil." The princess said, her husband nodding in agreement.

"I guess that's true, I mean not even her sister was able to say anything to stop her." Dorothy said looking at Ellie.

Ellie was about to say something when Aislynn ran into the room. She was panting heavily as if she had sprinted all the way here, which in fact she did. She took a minute to catch her breath and then looked up at them.

"So, you guys, are still here?" She asked through breaths.

"Yea, did you run here?" Dorothy asked looking at her/

"Yes, the scarecrow told me that he would continue working on the rainbow mover and to go off and find you guys, when I didn't find you in your room Dorothy, I just assumed you guys were still here and ran here." She said finally catching her breath.

"Well then, have a seat." Ellie said offering Aislynn a chair.

"How is she?" Aislynn asked looking at Elena who had just walked into the room from an office in the back.

"She's fine, just unconscious still." Elena said sighing.

"Brianna, Chrissy, Caitlyn, you two have been unusually quiet giving the events." Ellie said looking at them.

"There isn't much to say, anyways, I have to get back to the ice cream shop." Brianna said getting up and walking out.

"Sometimes I wonder about her." Alyssa said watching as Brianna left.

"Whys that?" Elena asked walking over.

"Well she always seems to have to be doing her job, though I applaud her for that, she hardly takes a break from her duties as a cook." Alyssa said sighing

"She's always like that though Alyssa." Ellie said.

"Right Ellie, but when she does take a break it's only either for events, such as you're wedding, or official army business." Alyssa said.

"Alyssa, don't worry about it, it's how she lives her life, and she's fine." Ellie said.

"Fine Ellie." She said saluting.

"I am going to need to get used to being in this position." Ellie said rolling her eyes making all of them laugh.

"Ellie, I know you aren't used to being in a position of leadership but trust me Alyssa doesn't make it seem that hard." Chrissy said.

"Thanks Chris, but I'm not just in technical leadership of you guys but in charge of Glinda's domain, thank goodness the china princess knows how to be a ruler." Ellie said chuckling.

"You know, your sister is a wonderful person and that goodness often shows in you." Caitlyn said.

"Thanks Caitlyn. I'm flattered, but I will never be able to match up to the way my sister does things." Ellie said sitting down.

"Ellie, trust me, you'll do great, we all believe that you can do it." Dorothy said placing a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"Yea Ellie, I'm sure you'll do as great as your sister would, and I'm sure she believes you can do it, otherwise she would have ordered someone else to be in charge." Aislynn said smiling.

Ellie looked at Aislynn, then to Dorothy. She smiled and chuckled. She then closed her eyes and took a breath.

"Thanks ace, you have a point." She said looking at her.

"You're welcome, anyway has anyone contacted the gales yet to let them know about our current situation?" Aislynn asked.

"Oh my, I had forgotten to that." Ellie said quickly getting up and running over to a nearby mirror.

She then produced a bottle of liquid from her pocket which she uncorked and splashed on to the glass. The mirror began to ripple and soon it was showing the inside of Dorothy's farm house, from the mirror in the living room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale?" Ellie said into the mirror, after a few minutes Dorothy's aunt ran into the room/

"Ellie, where are you guys?" Em asked sounding worried.

"Currently stuck in Oz, my sister is currently in the emerald city hospital, unconscious." Ellie said moving out of the way of the mirror.

"Sweet heavens, what happened!?" Em asked now with more concern in her tone.

"She performed a really powerful spell that counteracted the jesters, it drained her of energy, according to Alison and Elena she'll awaken again in at least three days, at the most, a week." Ellie said sighing.

"And without her you can't get back?" Em asked.

"Sadly Alison isn't trained enough to perform the spell properly, not without Glinda." Ellie said as Dorothy walked over.

"Don't worry auntie Em, we'll be fine." Dorothy said assuredly.

"I know, it's just that the Teaks were worrying about Alex, his sister is getting kinda lonely." Em said.

"I wish I had brought Annabella with us." Alex said feeling guilty.

"But that would cause more worry wouldn't it?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"Probably, but at least she wouldn't be missing us." Alex said.

"True." Alyssa said looking at Terrance who nodded in agreement.

"Well the connection is fading, we'll talk to you later Mrs. Gale." Ellie said as the picture in the mirror returned to normal.

Dorothy sighed and walked back over to the table. Ellie followed but she didn't stop at the table, she walked over to her sister's bedside and sat down in the chair next to it. She sighed and looked over at her friends.

"Would you guys mind?" Ellie asked.

"No, not at all." The china princess said getting up and motioning for everyone to come along.

Everyone nodded and got up, Dorothy grabbed the scepter and followed at the back. She was almost at the door when Ellie stopped her.

"Would you please stay for a minute so I can ask you something?" Ellie asked.

"Sure Ellie, what is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Do you really think I can do it? You know, be a leader?" Ellie asked sounding worried.

"Ellie, I know you can do it, and all of us will stand by you until Glinda is well again." Dorothy said giving Ellie a quick hug.

"Thanks Dorothy, but I'm still worried about it." Ellie said.

"Well I would be worried as well if I were in your position." Dorothy said chuckling.

Ellie giggled at this statement and returned a quick embrace. She then turned around and walked back over to her sister's bedside and sat back in the chair. Dorothy chuckled a bit and then walked out of the sickbay and ran after her friends.


	43. Early morning

**Disclaimer, you know**

The rest of the evening had gone by pretty quickly. It was now three o'clock the following morning and Dorothy found herself unable to sleep. She spent some of the time watching the scepter bob up and down in the air. She wished she had Toto to keep her company. At about half past three she got up and turned on the light. She then walked into the closet and changed out of her night gown and into her usual dress. When she emerged from her closet she was extremely surprised to find Ellie sitting on her bed.

"So, you couldn't sleep either?" Ellie asked rubbing her eyes.

"No, why are you here?" Dorothy asked walking over to her and sitting down next to her.

"Dorothy, I'm really worried." Ellie said.

"About being a ruler?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, but also about my sister." She replied starting to tear up.

"Ellie." Dorothy said wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Dorothy, I had a nightmare, that my sister." Ellie said before bursting into tears in Dorothy's arms.

Dorothy hugged Ellie tightly and ran a hand through her hair. It wasn't long before the china princess, having heard the commotion, showed up at the door.

"What happened?" She asked walking over.

"She had a nightmare about her sister." Dorothy said as Ellie sobbed into her shoulder.

"Oh dear, Ellie?" the china princess asked placing a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

Ellie peeked up from Dorothy's shoulder and looked at the china princess. Her face was now red and stained with tears even though she had only been crying for a few minutes. She wiped her eyes of tears and sniffed.

"Hello, china princess." Ellie said sniffing a bit,

"Ellie, please come with me, I'll get some tea going, and you and I can discuss it, ruler to ruler." She said taking Ellie's hand leading her out of the room.

Dorothy looked at the china princess. The princess looked at Dorothy worriedly but smiled as they both left the room, shutting the door behind them. Dorothy sighed and lay back down on her bed. Holding out her hand for the scepter to come to her. As it reached her hand she sat up and tightened her grasp on it. She then got off her bed and walked over to her boots. As she pulled them on she waved the scepter at the door causing it to open. Soon she was out of her room and in the hallway of the emerald city. She sighed and made her way to the chambers, when she got there she found the door slightly ajar. She pushed open the door and walked in, she saw scarecrow sitting on the throne, writing stuff down on a pad of paper, then scratching the top of his head from under his hat. She saw Aislynn asleep on the sofa that she had slept on the first time she had her nightmares. She smiled and

"Scarecrow?" Dorothy asked in a whisper.

"Dorothy? Why are you awake?" Scarecrow asked sounding concerned.

"I couldn't sleep, Ellie's awake as well, she's having tea with the china princess, and she had a nightmare, but not in that order." Dorothy said walking over to him.

"So you thought you may as well come here?" He asked.

"I felt it better than sitting around waiting for it to be time for breakfast." Dorothy replied shrugging.

"Fair enough." He replied.

"Why isn't Aislynn in the room that was set up for her?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because she only fell asleep at midnight, we had some really nice discussions though." He said chuckling.

"I can imagine, she's really intelligent, smartest in our class." Dorothy said looking at her.

"Why are you talking about me?" Aislynn asked in a giggling whisper, just as the clock struck four.

"I'm sorry ace, did we wake you?" Dorothy asked concerned

"No, you didn't, I've been up, I couldn't sleep either." Aislynn said sitting up and giving a yawn as she stretched.

"Well that seems to be a recurring theme." Dorothy said giggling.

"Yeah, I'm going to go head to the China Princess's room to see if Ellie's alright." Aislynn said getting up and running out before Dorothy could say a thing.

"Should we go after her?" Scarecrow asked looking at her.

"We should, but I personally wouldn't, I think only one or two of us at them time would be best for Ellie at the time being." Dorothy said walking over to a window.

"I guess so." He said pondering this for a minute.

"Hey straw man, you in here?" came the voice of Lion as he walked in.

"Why do you always ask that?" scarecrow asked curiously.

"Because the one day I don't, I'll walk in and you won't be here." He replied.

"Fair enough, do you need something?" Scarecrow asked

"Old tin head has finally run out of oil." Lion said.

"Oh dear, don't tell me he's rusted." Dorothy said turning around in shock causing lion to jump.

"Oh, Dorothy, I didn't see you there, what are you doing up so early kid?" He asked.

Dorothy opened her mouth to say something but scarecrow cut her off explaining that Dorothy wasn't able to sleep, and neither was Aislynn or Ellie, and that Ellie was a bit upset. Dorothy not wanting to be left out cut the scarecrow out before he could say anything.

"And you see lion, I just thought coming here would be better than nothing, now where is tin man?" Dorothy said really concerned.

"He's in the library, Straw man where do you keep his extra oil?" Lion replied walking over to him.

"I'll go get it, I wish Glinda had made him that bottomless oil can." Scarecrow said getting up and running to his little workshop.

Lion was about to make a remark when Ellie ran in and hugged Dorothy tightly. Aislynn and The china princess followed. Ellie wasn't crying at this point which was good, but she still had an air of sadness with her. She looked up at Dorothy and was about to say something when scarecrow came out with the spare can of oil for tin man.

"Lion here's the oil, oh it seems we are getting a lot of company, Lion bring this to tin man, oil him so he can move and then bring him here." He said tossing the can to lion.

Lion caught it, nodded and saluted, and then ran out quickly. Ellie broke her embrace from Dorothy and smiled. She then looked at the china princess and Aislynn, her mood having definitely changed now, but she still carried the air of sadness, though it was a bit weaker. It was like she was putting willpower into hiding her emotions.

"Is the rainbow mover fixed?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I don't think so, we managed to get the pipes reattached and fixed but I may just start from scratch I have the plans and they worked the first time so, well it's worth a shot I guess." He said looking at it.

"Why not test it?" Aislynn asked.

"No, no, no out of the question, assume we did it wrong, Oz knows where you'd end up." Scarecrow said worriedly.

"Why didn't you do that in the first place? You know, instead of trying to fix it properly" Aislynn asked thinking about it.

"Because I was able to get it to work once, back when the jester returned the first time, but he machine started falling apart." The scarecrow replied.

"I remember that, I remember it well." Dorothy said chuckling.

"I think most of us do Dorothy." Ellie said hugging Dorothy tightly again and giggling.

"I try not to remember the last part a lot though." Dorothy said shivering.

"Why what happened Dorothy?" Aislynn asked.

"I got turned to stone Ace, I thought I told you this story already?" Dorothy said looking over to her.

"You probably did, but I don't remember." Aislynn said chuckling.

"Fair enough, Ellie, where's Alex?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Either in his room or wandering around the castle, I'm sure we aren't the only ones who weren't able to sleep." Ellie said giggling at the thought of Alex being lost in the castle.

"Ellie, don't laugh if he's awake he could be lost, and then he could get hurt, I know you don't like him but for my sake please be kinder to him." Dorothy said looking her in the eyes.

Ellie was about to say something, but she thought about it and then sighed in defeat. Shortly after lion and tin man ran in. Dorothy smiled and ran over to them.

"Dorothy? What are you guys doing awake?" The tin man asked curiously.

"Couldn't sleep." Lion said ruffling Dorothy's hair, making her giggle.

"Ah, you must be tired, thanks for the oil scarecrow, I really need to replenish my stock." Tin man said holding up the oil can.

"No problem, I'm surprised you finally ran out." Scarecrow said chuckling.

"I didn't do it intentionally, I just wasn't keeping an eye on my levels, made me feel a bit stupid." He said sighing.

"But you aren't stupid, people forget things all the time, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Dorothy said smiling.

Tin man smiled and was about to say something when Alex walked in. he, like Aislynn, Ellie and herself, was completely dressed in his day clothes.

"So this is where you all are, I'm guessing you couldn't sleep either?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a recurring theme this morning." Ellie said walking over.

"I can see that, good morning your majesty." Alex said jokingly, and bowing in Ellie's direction, then running over to Dorothy to use her as a shield if need be.

"Alex, I was just telling Ellie that she should be nicer to you, don't ruin it by bringing it on yourself." Dorothy said.

"Alex, you know Ellie doesn't like being referred to as your majesty, your grace, or any of the other greater titles." The china princess said.

"I know, I was joking around, can't I joke without the whole world coming to an end?" He asked.

"Yes, but not at Ellie's expense at this point." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, sorry Ellie." Alex said looking at her.

"It's alright Alex, just don't do it again, or I may just black out your other eye." She replied chuckling.

"Ellie, don't even joke like that, giving him a black eye because you were upset is one thing, doing it purposely is quite another, and…" Dorothy started saying before Alex cut her off.

"Dorothy, don't worry about it, can't you see she is joking?" Alex asked chuckling.

"I guessed that, but knowing Ellie well enough, and knowing the fact that she doesn't like you all that much, it wouldn't surprise me if she did black out your other eye." She said back and forth between them.

"Dorothy, I promise you I won't hit him again unless he gives me a good reason to." Ellie said chuckling.

"Scarecrow, Elena was wondering if you wanted, oh hello everybody." Alison said walking in.

Morning." They all said in unison.

"Right, anyways Elena wanted to know if you wanted Glinda moved back to her proper room." Alison asked.

"Is she in a stable condition?" Ellie asked worriedly.

"Yes Ellie." Alison said sighing.

"I wish there was a way we could speed up her recovery, I don't really want to be in charge." Ellie said.

"Sadly there isn't." Alison quickly replied

"Doesn't mean I can't wish." Ellie said shrugging.

"Sure, you can move Glinda back to her room." Scarecrow said.

"Okay, I'll let Elena know." She replied walking out.

"Thanks." Scarecrow said.

Dorothy smiled and then tightened her grasp on the scepter. She then stretched and yawned.

"I think I'm going to go back to my own room." Dorothy said walking out.

"Okay Dorothy." Ellie said.

Dorothy smiled and took out into a sprint to her bedroom. When she arrived she walked over to her bed and sat down on it. She then thought about what Ellie had said. She then pulled out her little pocket compendium and flipped through it.

"Come on there has to be something in here." She said flipping through it.

As she did this the scepter began to glow, out of the corner of her eye she saw Alison walk by from the direction of Glinda's room. She smiled and got up, taking the book with her as well as the scepter. She then ran to Glinda's room. She saw that the scepter was now glowing brighter. She smiled, she knew that it had the idea of what she wanted to do, and she know it could help. She didn't know how she would do it, but she knew she could. As soon as she arrived at Glinda's room she saw Glinda, sleeping peacefully in her bed. Dorothy slowly approached and the scepter flashed brightly. She dropped the scepter and the pocket compendium in surprise. The compendium landed on a page of text Dorothy couldn't make out, she picked it up as well the scepter which pulled her towards Glinda. Dorothy looked at Glinda, the spell had drained her own energy, but did that mean that energy could be transferred into her? Dorothy didn't know, but she wanted to try for Ellie's sake. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She concentrated on taking her own energy and transferring it into Glinda, she knew Glinda had told her not to use magic or her own energy for that matter to heal herself, and the effect would probably be the same using it on other people. She opened her eyes and gasped, she was now glowing, and the same lights that had taken the energy out of Glinda were transferring her energy into Glinda to heal her. She soon however began to feel dizzy, then Elena came out of the bathroom carrying an ice pack, when she saw what was happening she gasped.

"Dorothy!" Elena shouted.

Dorothy looked at Elena and was about to say something but she began to feel extremely dizzy. Next thing she knew she blacked out.


	44. Waking up

**Disclaimer, you know.**

Dorothy awoke to the feeling of a warm compress on her forehead. She opened her eyes to find that she was back in her bedroom in the farmhouse. She smiled and sat up, only to find Alex asleep in a chair in the corner of the room. The scepter was leaned against the wall, instead of floating a few inches to a few feet away. She took the compress off of her forehead and got up. When she did this she noticed she was now in a light pink nightgown, one that she knew she didn't own personally nor had she ever seen in her closet in the emerald city. She grabbed the scepter and walked out of her room quietly, as to not wake Alex, and into the living room where she was immediately pulled into a crushing embrace, not by Ellie, but by Glinda. Dorothy immediately dropped the scepter in surprise, as it hit the floor it began to glow again. Dorothy smiled and returned the embrace more than happy to see Glinda awake again.

"Dorothy Gale, promise me that you will never, ever, do that again!" Glinda said in a stern yet soft tone.

Dorothy smiled and made a cross motion over her heart. Soon Ellie and Aislynn came into the house followed by Toto who ran up to her barking wildly.

"Oh your finally up, how was your sleep?" Toto asked curiously.

"My nap was refreshing, how long was I out for?" Dorothy asked curiously.

At this point everybody looked at her, Dorothy was confused, and she looked at Glinda for some guidance.

"Dorothy, you've been asleep for, three days, about as long as I would have slept." Glinda said waving her wand, causing a plate of food to appear on the coffee table.

"Oh my." Dorothy was the only thing she could say.

"Dorothy, where's Alex?" Ellie asked curiously.

"He's in my room, asleep in a chair." Dorothy said walking over to the coffee table, sitting down on the couch and starting to eat.

"So, he finally fell asleep, he was watching you non-stop." Ellie said scoffing.

"He's a good kid, he deserves a rest." Aislynn said.

"Quite right ace, and by the way, thanks for the invitation." Glinda said.

"Invitation?" Dorothy asked.

"Oh right, Dorothy I almost forgot, my maids, your aunt and uncle, as well as the Teaks and Mr. Foreman are organizing a Christmas party at my manor." Aislynn said pulling an envelope out and handing it to Dorothy.

"Thanks, um two questions." Dorothy said looking at them.

"Fire away." Glinda said.

"Where did this night gown come from?" Dorothy asked curiously

"Its one of mine, I shrunk it down to fit you, we didn't want to waste any time making sure you were alright." Glinda said.

"Okay, thanks, next question, when is the party?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Christmas Eve, though you could have gotten that from the invitation." Aislynn said.

"Oh, right, I'm assuming it's going to be casual." Dorothy questioned?

"Depends on what you mean by casual, my Grandfather threw some pretty extravagant parties, you're aunt and uncle are actually at the manor planning stuff with the teak's, Mr. Foreman, and my maids." Aislynn said.

"Oh, wait a minute, is Annabella?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She's napping in your aunt and uncles room, I set up a cradle in there." Glinda said.

"She was upset that you weren't awake, she kept trying to sneak into your room to try and wake you up." Ellie said chuckling.

"I was out cold wasn't I?" Dorothy asked worriedly.

"More like coma." Aislynn said.

"Dorothy!?" came the sound of Annabella's voice.

"I'll go get her, Dorothy, you go change." Glinda said.

Dorothy finished her meal and nodded, she then got up, grabbed the scepter, and ran to her room quickly. She shook Alex awake. He groaned and blinked, he saw Dorothy and immediately snapped awake.

"Oh good, what has it been now, three days?" he asked.

"Yes, and now I need to change, so if you wouldn't mind." Dorothy said referring do the door.

Alex nodded and got up, he then walked out and shut the door behind him. Dorothy smiled and quickly changed into her normal clothing. She then grabbed the scepter and walked out of her bedroom. When she got to the living room she was met with a squeal of delight. Annabella ran over to Dorothy and nearly tackled her to the ground. Dorothy laughed and hugged Annabella.

"Dorothy finally wake up." Annabella said happily.

"I think she really missed you." Toto said walking over to her.

"Yea boy, I think I realized that." Dorothy said giggling.

"Dorothy, up!" Annabella said.

Dorothy laughed for a moment, set down the scepter, and then picked up Annabella. Annabella giggled and tugged playfully at Dorothy's hair, which until now she hadn't even noticed that her hair was still in pigtails, she winced a bit and then chuckled.

"Annabella, please don't do that." Dorothy said.

Annabella giggled and then started trying to pull off one of Dorothy's hair ribbons. Everyone chuckled at this as Dorothy took out one of the ribbons and surrendered it to Annabella.

"Out of curiosity where is her stuffed bear?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"It's in the cradle I think." Glinda said walking off to check.

"I hope so." Dorothy said as Glinda walked by.

Glinda chuckled and returned a few seconds later with the bear. Annabella giggled and dropped the ribbon, she then reached out to receive the bear from Glinda. Glinda chuckled obliged, handing the stuffed bear to Annabella. As soon as Annabella had the bear in her grasp she squeezed it to her body tightly and sighed. Dorothy chuckled and walked over to the couch. She sat down on it and set Annabella on the cushion next to her, she in turn set the bear down in a sitting position.

"Teddy want to sit too." Annabella said happily.

"I see that, Toto could you bring me the ribbon that Annabella dropped?" Dorothy asked

"Sure." He said walking over and picking it up in his mouth.

"I wish I had someone like Toto, maybe not a dog, I like cats better." Aislynn said looking down at Toto.

"Well I think everyone needs someone like Toto." Dorothy said as Toto walked over and handed over the ribbon.

"But like I said, I don't really want a dog though, Toto, what would you say to a cat?" Aislynn asked curiously.

Toto looked at Aislynn curiously as if to say to her, 'oh were you talking to me?'

"Tell her I don't mind as long as get to choose the cat." Toto said.

"What did he say Dorothy?" Aislynn and Ellie in unison.

"He said he doesn't mind so long as he gets to choose the cat." Dorothy said tying her hair back into a pigtail.

"I guess that's fair, I mean it would be his territory that we are intruding on." Aislynn said.

"I think so too, and at least we've bridged the communication barrier between Dorothy and Toto so he doesn't have to signal for us to the one he likes." Glinda said.

"Ace getting a cat?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Maybe one day, maybe in the spring." Aislynn said.

"Oh." Annabella said.

"Glinda, I think it's about time for lunch." Alex said as the clock struck one.

"But I just ate." Dorothy said.

"Well, I haven't, not since last night." Alex said as his stomach let out a noticeable grumble.

"Oh, don't let me hold you guys back, come on Annabella go with your brother to kitchen, Glinda you go too." Dorothy said.

"Okay." Annabella said climbing off the couch and running over to Alex.

"Aren't you going to bring your stuffed bear?" Glinda asked looking over at the couch.

"No, he keep Dorothy company." Annabella said smiling.

Everyone laughed at this for a moment before they all walked to the kitchen. Dorothy sat there and finished putting her pigtail back in. she then looked down at Toto and sighed.

"Toto, remember our first visit to Oz?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"How do you forget something like that, besides you tell the stories at the library, why?" he asked curiously.

"I was wondering if you remembered those ruby slippers." replied

"Yea why?" He replied.

"I wish I knew where they were, the last object of power of the witch of the east, sure the jester can't use them but that doesn't mean he can't get an ally who can." Dorothy said.

"Good point." Toto said.

Meanwhile unknown to Dorothy, Ellie and Glinda were listening to what Dorothy was saying while Alex, Annabella and Aislynn were eating. Glinda looked at Ellie and frowned.

"She's right, the jester could make an Ally that could use them." Glinda whispered.

"Do you know where they are sis?" Ellie asked curiously

"No, but Roquat will, he knows where every jewel in the world has ended up, no matter what he says." Glinda whispered.

"How long before you have to be back in Oz?" Alex asked curiously.

"Soon, now that Dorothy is finally awake, I can return to Oz without worry." Glinda said.

"Glinda let's face it there's always something to worry about." Ellie said.

"Well, you guys eat, I'll get something when I return to Oz." Glinda said walking out of the kitchen.

Dorothy looked up from Toto and over at Glinda.

"Oh, Glinda, did you need something?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"No, no my dear child, I just wanted to inform you that I must be returning to Oz soon, now that you're awake I can return there without having to worry about you being in a coma." Glinda said sighing.

"How soon?" Dorothy asked.

"When the clock reads half past one, that way you have time to ask any questions you may have." Glinda said looking at the clock.

"I have many, but I think I'll save those for another time." Dorothy said smiling.

"Fair enough, anyways, you can keep the night gown if you'd like." Glinda said.

Dorothy was about to say something but the sound of the phone ringing interrupted her. She quickly got up and ran over to it. She picked it up and brought it to her ear.

"Gale residence." She said into the phone.

"Dorothy! Oh thank goodness you're finally awake, we'll be departing from the manor soon, and I trust that your friends have told you what's going on?" Came the voice of Auntie Em from the phone.

"Yes auntie Em." Dorothy replied.

"Okay good, well, see you in forty-five minutes or so." She said as the phone hung up.

Dorothy smiled and put the phone back on the hook. She then looked back at Glinda who was scratching Toto behind the ear now. Alex then came out of the kitchen carrying Annabella, he walked past Dorothy and over to the couch, setting Annabella down upon it and handing her the stuffed bear. Annabella giggled and hugged the bear tightly.

"He need a bowtie." Annabella said.

"Whys that Annabella?" Dorothy asked.

"Why not?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Alex, I'm beginning to think that you are a bad influence on your sister sometimes, she seems to have your amount of attitude." Dorothy said chuckling.

"So?" he replied chuckling.

"Exactly." Dorothy said walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Annabella.

"Has she named the thing yet?" Glinda asked looking at Alex.

"I don't think so, Annabella, does your teddy bear have a name?" Alex asked curiously.

"Um…" Annabella replied causing all of them to laugh.

"Take your time dear, names always stick." Glinda said chuckling.

"How about Freddy?" Annabella asked.

"Why Freddy?" Alex curiously.

"Sound like teddy." Annabella replied.

"Fair enough." Alex said rolling his eyes.

"So that's Freddy?" Glinda asked producing a small red ribbon.

"I think we established that." Alex said looking at Glinda.

"Right, anyways, she said he needs a bowtie right?" Glinda asked.

"Yes, boys need ties." Annabella said holding up the bear for Glinda.

Glinda smiled and took the bear, she then sat it down on the coffee table and knelt down and began tying the ribbon around the bears neck. After a few seconds she stood up and took a step back. The bear now had a red bowtie, made out of a red bit of ribbon.

"Perfect." Annabella said climbing off the couch.

"Yea now all he needs is a tuxedo, a top hat and a cane and he'll be ready for a night on the town." Alex said chuckling.

"What that mean?" Annabella asked picking up the bear.

"It means going to have a fancy and good time, kind of like how mom and dad go to those parties every now and again." Alex said.

"Oh yes speaking of that, my aunt called, they'll be leaving the manor soon." Dorothy said

"Oh that's good." Alex said.

Dorothy was about to say something when Ellie and Aislynn walked out of the kitchen. They walked over to the group and sat down.

"Kitchens cleaned up." Ellie said.

"Thanks Ellie." Dorothy and Glinda said in unison.

"No problem, anyways, oh…" Ellie as a knock came on the door.

Dorothy looked at Alex and shrugged, she then ran over to the door, put in the sliding bolt and opened the door slightly. What she was met with was a blast of chilly air and Mr. Alistair standing outside the door. Dorothy chuckled and let him in. he shivered and took off his coat and tossed it to Alex.

"Ah Dorothy, you're awake, how are you my dear?" he asked curiously.

"I'm fine Mr. Alistair, how are you?" Dorothy replied shutting the door

"I'm doing well, Alex, your father called from the manor, your father wants me to keep an eye on you, and Mr. and Mrs. Gale assume that since Dorothy is now awake that Glinda will be departing soon." Mr. Alistair said sighing.

"Okay, so my father still doesn't trust me." Alex said putting his uncle's coat down on the couch.

"Anyways, Dorothy, I assume we shall be seeing you back in school tomorrow?" Mr. Alistair asked curiously.

"Of course, why would I miss it?" Dorothy asked smiled.

"Good point, ah well then, Alex, you said that your father still doesn't trust you? But you've changed so much." Mr. Alistair said turning to his nephew.

"So? He thinks that this is just a phase, and as soon as I get the chance, I'll go back to my old rotten self." He said putting on the best imitation of his father as he could.

"Well that can happen, but I personally don't think it will." Mr. Alistair said walking over to Alex.

Dorothy smiled and opened her mouth to say something when the phone rang once again. Aislynn jumped and immediately ran to get it.

"Gale residence, oh hello, yea she's awake, sure, Dorothy its Donna." Aislynn called from across the room.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to Aislynn, she took the phone from her and brought up to her ear.

"Donna?" Dorothy asked into the phone.

"Sleep well?" Donna asked chuckling.

"Quite, anyways did you need something?" Dorothy asked.

"I was wondering if Kelly and I could come over, mom and dad are busy planning their next trip for after the New Year and we need something to do." Donna replied.

"Sure, come on over, everyone else is here, Glinda will be leaving soon though." Dorothy responded looking at the clock.

"That's alright, are your aunt and uncle still at the manor?" Donna asked curiously.

"Yes, as are the Teaks but Alex and Annabella are here, and my aunt and uncle said they'd be leaving the manor soon." Dorothy said.

"Okay then, see you in probably ten minutes." Donna said hanging up the phone on her end.

Dorothy smiled and placed the phone back on the hook. She then walked back over to the couch and sat down on it.

"Donna and Kelly are coming over." Dorothy said.

"That's nice, well, I must be off, and I'll see you all later." Glinda said looking at the clock.

"See you later sis, ill contact you tonight." Ellie said smiling.

Glinda smiled and then vanished. Dorothy smiled a bit then looked at Annabella. She was just sitting there, watching what was going on. She then looked up at Dorothy and smiled. She then giggled and handed her bear to Dorothy.

"Hey, you gave him a bow tie." Mr. Alistair said looking at.

"Yea, Annabella said all boys need a tie." Dorothy said chuckling.

"I'm guessing she named it then?" Mr. Alistair asked curiously.

"Yea, she called it Freddy." Dorothy said.

"Whys that?" He asked looking at Annabella.

"Sound like teddy." Annabella said giggling.

"Ah, I see." He said.

Dorothy was about to say something when a knock came on the door. Dorothy looked at Ellie, who nodded and ran over to it. She put in the bolt and opened the door. She then chuckled and unbolted the door and let Donna and Kelly in.

"Hello uncle, what are you doing here?" Donna asked curiously.

"Alex's father told me to keep an eye on him." Mr. Alistair replied.

"So, he still doesn't trust you." Donna said chuckling.

"Thanks donna, thanks for rubbing it in." Alex said.

"No problem." Donna said taking off her coat and then helping Kelly with hers.

"So donna, how are you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I've been good, how are you?" Donna asked.

"I'm fine, just woke up maybe over an hour ago." Dorothy replied.

"That's nice, Oh, hello Annabella." Donna said as Annabella ran up to her and hugged her.

"hi." She replied giggling.

"Kelly, aren't you going to say hi?" Donna asked looking down at her younger sister.

"Good afternoon." Kelly said looking around the room.

"Good afternoon." Everyone said in unison.

"Kelly, why don't you come with me, we can have a little chat." Aislynn said walking over to Kelly, taking her hand and leading her to her bedroom.

"Kelly doesn't really like being around when Annabella is around." Donna said shrugging.

"Probably because she's used to being the youngest of the family, but Annabella changed that entirely." Mr. Alistair said walking over to his nieces and picking up Annabella.

"Yes, I'd assume so, the only thing that might change that is if you for whatever reason have kids." Donna said looking at her uncle.

"And we've established that's not going to happen." Mr. Alistair said chuckling.

Dorothy smiled, set down Annabella's stuffed bear and got up. Grabbing the scepter she walked back to her room without saying a word. Alex looked at her curiously and followed her as did Toto. When they got to her room they found her sitting on her bed as if waiting for them to show up.

"Dorothy, is something wrong?" Alex asked curiously.

"Not really, it's just that, I never got the chance to have any younger relatives, auntie Em and uncle henry have always been too busy with the farm and taking care of me to even have kids, and at this point I doubt I'll ever have any younger cousins in this house hold." Dorothy said sighing.

"Ah, I see, you feel a bit left out, but what about Ellie and Aislynn? You treat them as if they were your sisters." Alex stated.

"True, but there are no more children in the Gale family outside of myself." Dorothy said as Toto jumped up onto her lap.

"I…uh…I honestly have no remark for that." Alex said looking at her.

"I figured you wouldn't." Dorothy said looking up at him smiling.

"I…uh…yea I got nothing." He said walking over to the bed and sitting next to her.

"Alex, I look at myself sometimes and think, how lucky is it that I'm an only child, but even Toto would agree that over the years it has gotten a bit lonely around here, I will always be an only child, I accept that but what's it like to have a little sister?" Dorothy said looking at him.

"Dorothy, I'll be honest, I never really think about it, I just live my life as if it's always been the way it is." Alex said wrapping an arm around Dorothy's shoulders.

Dorothy blushed and chuckled. She then heard the sound of the door in the living room open and a breeze blow through. And about a minute later Dorothy's aunt appeared in the door way. She looked in and smiled at what she saw.

"Alex, your parents are out at the truck, your uncle has already taken Annabella and her little stuffed bear out to the truck, Aislynn's bringing the rest of her things." Em said smiling.

"Okay Mrs. Gale, thank you." Alex said getting up and walking over to the door.

"Alex." Dorothy said looking up.

"Yes?" Alex asked turning around.

"Be good." Dorothy said smiling.

"No promises." He said chuckling and walking out.

Dorothy fell back on the bed and lay down. She then smiled and looked over at her aunt. She smiled back and shut the door leaving Dorothy to her thoughts. She knew that she couldn't wait for the Christmas party.

**Well then, odd chapter I know, but the next two chapters will not come out until Christmas. The party part 1 Christmas Eve, and part 2 Christmas day. Also I've recently thought of giving Dorothy a younger cousin. In the movie her aunt and uncle aren't that old, maybe late thirties. But over worked by the time my story not old, just really hard worked.**


	45. Christmas Eve

**Disclaimer you know.**

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of auntie Em.

"Yes auntie Em?" Dorothy replied.

"Are you ready to go to the Manor? Everyone else is." She called.

"Give me a minute to get stuff ready!" Dorothy called.

"We'll be waiting in the truck." She called back.

"Okay, see you in a minute." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter and a large sack containing her gifts to her friends.

She had gotten help of course in getting some of them. Her aunt had helped her in secret, the only secret she kept from her friends. She then realized she was doing things in the wrong order. She put the things down and put on her coat. She then grabbed the rest of the things and left the room with Toto following at her heels.

"So, party then, I really like your choice in outfit." Toto said.

"Thanks boy, I had Glinda get it for me from my closet in the city, the perfect holiday dress." Dorothy said

The dress was red in the top half and green on the bottom. It was definitely perfect for the occasion. It was good for a party yet you could wear it casually for everyday use. She looked down at Toto as they exited the house and walked towards the truck. Glinda had taken Ellie with her to the manor ahead of time so there would be enough room in the truck for her and Aislynn to travel in the back seats comfortably. Dorothy handed the sack off to her aunt who then got into the truck and set it on her lap. Dorothy then got into the back seat followed by Toto. And soon they were off. It was only one in the afternoon but during their planning session Dorothy's aunt and uncle decided the party should start early and everyone agreed.

"So, merry Christmas." Aislynn said.

"Merry Christmas ace." Dorothy said

"So, our plan is to stay the night at the manor, tomorrow we open gifts, and then go to Oz." Aislynn said pulling out a note pad.

"You guys all seem to have this planned out." Dorothy said as they drove along.

"Yes, yes we do, we planned it all because we have a surprise for you." Aislynn said/

"Auntie Em, were you in on this?" Dorothy asked.

"We all are Dorothy, even Alex, as well as Glinda, and she came up with the idea for the surprise." Em said.

"Well then, if it was Glinda's plan then it must be good." Dorothy said chuckling.

"We figured you'd think so, on my opinion I think you're going to love it, also the surprise won't be till Christmas day when we all go to the emerald city." Em said chuckling

"What do you mean by all?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I mean us, the Maitlands, the Teaks, Mr. Foreman, and your little crew." She replied.

"And they're all fine with being transported to a strange and unusual place?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Of course not, but its Christmas and they were willing to try something new, Mr. Foreman didn't seem to have a problem though." Em said smiling.

"That's because in the medical trade, you see a lot of strange things, I don't think he minds seeing anything stranger." Henry said.

"Good point, do you think the Pryce's will be willing to come?" Em asked.

"Doubt it, Mr. Pryce has changed over the last year I won't deny it, but he seems a bit jittery with this Oz stuff." Dorothy replied.

"Good point dear, anyone against offering anyway?" Em asked.

No one said anything. Not even Toto barked to object. Dorothy smiled and chuckled.

"Guess not, you can offer, if he accepts well for him and his wife, if he doesn't, well I won't blame him." Dorothy said.

"Me neither." Em said chuckling.

They all shared a brief chuckle about this and then fell silent. The silence lasted until they were pulling up to the manor. It was decked out in holly and what looked like vines of holly around the windows. The lawn had what looked like a family of snowmen. They were many different sizes of snowmen sitting around the lawn. In the windows wreaths. And on the door knocker a Santa hat and beard which Dorothy thought was quite funny. There were already cars there, they belonged to the Teaks, the Maitlands, and one she assumed was Mr. Foreman's. Behind them arrived Mr. Alistair and Mr. Pryce and his wife. They all emerged from their cars and walked towards the door of the house.

"So just how many invitations did you end up sending?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Everyone in our class got one, as well as the people in my grandfather's address book, the maids called all of them, I got a stack of sympathy cards as well." Aislynn said.

"That reminds me, when is your grandfathers funeral?" Dorothy asked.

"When the thaw happens." Aislynn said.

"Oh." Dorothy said as her aunt handed her the sack of gifts back.

"Yeah, by the way Mrs. Gale the kitchen has everything you requested." Aislynn said as Jessica came out to greet them.

"Thank you ace." Em said smiling.

"Good afternoon, merry Christmas." Jessica said to all of them.

"Merry Christmas Jess." Aislynn said walking into the house.

"Merry Christmas Mr. and Mrs. Gale." Jessica said turning to them.

"Merry Christmas Ms. Jessica." Em and Henry said following after Aislynn

"Merry Christmas jess." Dorothy said smiling, Toto barked as well.

"Merry Christmas Dorothy." Jessica said allowing Dorothy to pass.

Dorothy and Toto walked pass Jessica into the house. The sight she was met with was one she was surprised with. Next to the stair way was a large Christmas tree surrounded by gifts. She walked over to it and jenny walked over.

"I assume you have gifts, Glinda told us to suspect that, anyways they are sorted by name just look for the ones with your friends names on them." Jenny said.

"Thanks jenny." Dorothy said opening the sack.

She had hardly gotten to setting down gift into the pile before she was nearly tackled to the ground by Annabella. Dorothy gently set down the gifts, let the scepter levitate, and picked up Annabella. She then looked at jenny who nodded, she herself then began to sort out the gifts. Dorothy smiled and walked to the parlor carrying Annabella. She then looked at Annabella's outfit. It was similar to one Dorothy wore as a kid. It was a dark red color and had a little holly sprig at the she walked into the parlor followed Toto and the scepter. As soon as they were parlor Dorothy set Annabella down and walked over to her friends. Ellie was wearing a dress similar to Dorothy's, Glinda was wearing a light blue version of her pink dress, and Alex was wearing a nice suit jacket and dress shirt. He was wearing tan dress pants that had no creases in them and to top it off a pair of spats shoes. She chuckled at the look and Alex walked over and hugged her tightly. Her eyes then fell on Donna and Kelly, Donna was wearing a red dress while Kelly was wearing a green one. Dorothy broke from the embrace and walked over to them. Her eyes then fell on Mr. Foreman. He was wearing what looked like a tuxedo but with a long suit jacket, inside the jacket Dorothy could see that it was lined with velvet as red as blood. He looked at her and smiled.

"Merry Christmas Dorothy my dear." He said getting up and bowing.

"Merry Christmas Jon." She said curtseying.

"So, people are beginning to arrive." Alex said looking out the window.

"Yep, and soon the rest of the refreshments will be done and set out in the ball room." Aislynn said.

"Wait this place has a ball room?" Alex asked.

"You definitely weren't paying attention, go past the kitchen, fifth door on the right." Aislynn said.

"I didn't know either, but I guess it makes sense to have one in the manor." Dorothy said shrugging.

"Right, anyways, Aislynn you should go greet your guests, this is your party after all." Mr. Foreman said.

"Right, you guys should probably head to the ball room." Aislynn said Dorothy looked at her friends and nodded.

They all then walked out of the parlor and towards the ball room. Alex picked up Annabella and carried her with them. Toto followed closely at their heels. Soon they arrived at the ballroom which was a sight, it was huge, and decked out completely in decorations with wreaths on the walls. Dorothy marveled at it for a minute then noticed an orchestra, men with cellos and violins as well as other string instruments. Jenny was now setting bowls of punch and egg nog.

"There's no alcohol in the eggnog, since there are children coming." Jenny said.

"That's good, where did you get the recipe?" Dorothy asked.

"Mr. Diggs made some for him and Aislynn last Christmas, I tried to duplicate it as well as I could." Jenny said.

"That's nice, how's the punch?" Dorothy asked.

"On my opinion it's good." She said.

"I'll have to try some later." Dorothy said.

"Why not now?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Because it would be rude to try some before the other guests." Dorothy said as people began to slowly fill the room.

Jenny smiled at Dorothy and chuckled. She then walked back towards the kitchen. Dorothy smiled as Aislynn walked in accompanied be several more guests. Dorothy walked over to her and smiled.

"So many have arrived already, yet food will be served until what, ten o'clock?" Dorothy asked.

"Yep, people will probably start leaving beforehand though, help your selves." Aislynn said.

Dorothy smiled and walked out of the ballroom, she immediately ran into Mr. Foreman. She then lost her balance and fell over. Mr. Foreman Chuckled and helped her up.

"Aren't you going to join the party in the ballroom?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"Not right now Mr. Foreman, I'm going to go to the parlor, is Glinda still there, I noticed she didn't follow us." Dorothy asked.

"Actually she said she'd be back in a few minutes, she was preparing something for tomorrow." Mr. Foreman said.

"Okay, well I'll just go wait for her then." Dorothy said.

Mr. Foreman said nothing, he just smiled and let her passed. Dorothy smiled and walked passed him and soon found herself back in the parlor. She walked over to one of the couches and sat down on it. She then took a few deep breaths and set down the scepter. She looked down at her feet and at her silver flats. She had polished them for the occasion and she was happy with her job of it. After a few seconds Glinda appeared in front of her.

"Oh Dorothy, what are you doing here? Why aren't you with the rest of the party?" Glinda asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Dorothy said.

"What about?" Glinda asked curiously.

"This has been nagging me for a while and I've been wondering about it, why is Ellie blonde while your hair is reddish orange?" Dorothy asked curiously.

Glinda looked at Dorothy and sighed. She walked over to Dorothy and sat down next to her. Dorothy noticed she had a tear in her eyes. Dorothy sighed and took out a pocket handkerchief, she dabbed Glinda's eyes and waited for a second.

"That's, more or less, my own fault." Glinda said.

"How?" Dorothy asked in shock.

"Exposure to magic at a young age, I've done a lot of things which I regret, but my magic affected Ellie in ways I didn't expect, I never intended for any of it to happen but magic affects everyone you are around." Glinda said.

"So, Ellie is blonde because magic has some sort of fallout effect like radiation?" Came the voice of Aislynn.

Dorothy gasped and turned to the door to find Aislynn and Ellie standing in the parlor door way. Ellie ran in and hugged her sister tightly. Glinda returned the embrace and smiled.

"Aislynn's right." Glinda said.

"So magic effects everyone no matter what?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sadly yes." Glinda said referring to Ellie's blonde hair.

"Well let's not worry about that now sis, there's a party going on." Ellie said.

"Right, right, come on guys, we have a party to attend." Glinda said getting up and dragging Ellie out of the room.

Dorothy looked at Aislynn and chuckled. They then both walked out of the parlor and back to ballroom. When they arrived the orchestra was playing music for a slow dance. Alex walked up to Dorothy and bowed to her, Dorothy in turn curtseyed and handed the scepter to ellie. She then took Alex's hand and they danced. Dorothy found that Alex could dance beautifully, he lead so well. However unknown to both of them people had cleared out around them to watch them dance. When the song ended they stopped and were met with an applause, it was then that the clock struck six in the evening. Dorothy and Alex shared a gasp and Dorothy herself blushed. She and Alex took a bow and took Alex's hand and ran over to the refreshments table. She then got herself and Alex a glass of punch and downed it in one go.

"Did we really dance nonstop for five hours?" Dorothy asked.

"Seems like it." Alex replied.

"Wow, you were great though." Dorothy said.

"You were too." Alex said picking up a mini quiche and offering it to Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and took the quiche from him and popped it in her mouth. It was delicious. She was about to say something when jenny came up to them.

"You and Alex did some rather nice dancing, but Mr. Greene is here, and he wants to see you in the parlor, alone." Jenny said looking at Alex.

"Okay, I'll go see him." Dorothy said running over to Ellie and grabbing the scepter.

Dorothy then ran as quickly as she could to the parlor. When she got there she found Mr. Greene in a lime green tuxedo, sitting on the couch. He looked at Dorothy and chuckled.

"Ah Dorothy, merry Christmas." He said gesturing for her to sit down.

"Merry Christmas Mr. Green, Jenny said you wanted to see me?" Dorothy asked shutting the parlor door and then walking over to the couch across from Mr. Greene and sitting down.

"Yes, and this time it's to give you something that Mr. Diggs wanted me to give you on the Christmas after his death, that means now." He said pulling out a green envelope and placing it on the coffee table.

Dorothy smiled and picked up the envelope. She then placed it in her dress pocket to open later. As she reached into the pocket she felt her hair ribbon of keys in there. She had forgotten about them, she knew that she would be going to Oz at some point this Christmas so she assumed she had done it instinctively.

"Is that all?" She asked curiously.

"That is all, he only left me with the instructions to deliver it to you." He said getting up and walking over to the door.

As he opened it Alex and Ellie fell into the room. Dorothy gasped and ran over to help her friends up. She helped Ellie first then Alex. She then proceeded to punch Alex playfully on the arm.

"I thought you wouldn't spy on me of all people." Dorothy said as Mr. Green walked around them and out towards the ballroom.

"We were curious." Ellie said.

"I understand that, but Jenny said Mr. Green wanted to see me alone." Dorothy said.

"Well, aren't you going to read the letter?" Glinda asked from behind her.

"Oh Glinda, not you too." Dorothy said.

"Sorry, I was curious about what the lawyer of the wizard wanted." Glinda said.

Dorothy looked at her friends and pulled out the envelope. She then opened it and pulled out a small card. It was a Christmas card with a picture of the emerald city on the front. Dorothy smiled and opened it. She then read it aloud.

"Dear Dorothy gale, if my lawyer did his job right then this card has been received by you on either the 24th or 25th of December after my death, assuming this I would also assume that you probably have Aislynn in your custody, merry Christmas to you both, in the envelope besides this card you will find a small gift for you two, yours truly, Oscar Diggs." Dorothy said.

Dorothy then looked in the envelope and indeed there was a folded up piece of rectangular sheet of paper. Dorothy took it out of envelope and unfolded it. She looked at it for a minute as the paper unfolded itself from another piece. Ellie walked over to her and pulled one of the slips of paper from Dorothy's hand. Aislynn then walked into the room.

"So this is where you all disappeared to, what you looking at?" Aislynn asked walking over.

"It seems, that your grandfather left you and Dorothy a Christmas present, and it appears to be, two checks one made out to you and the other made out to Dorothy." Ellie said looking at it.

"Ace, how wealthy was your grandfather?" Glinda asked curiously looking at the checks.

"Very, and now I get to put something in my personal account, why how much did he give us?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Fifty-thousand dollars each, that's a very generous sum." Glinda said snapping her fingers in front of Dorothy's face.

Dorothy blinked a few times and shook her head. She then looked at her friends and handed the check to Glinda. She then sat down a whistled for Toto. After a few minutes he ran in and jumped onto Dorothy's lap.

"Aislynn, your grandfather is a really generous man, but I'm not sure I can accept his gift." Dorothy said.

"Why not?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Because it's technically your money, you inherited his fortune remember?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, and technically at the time this was written it was my grandfather's fortune, and you have my permission so it's okay." Aislynn.

"I think that's fair enough Dorothy." Glinda said.

"I guess so, but fifty-thousand dollars? What am I going to do with that?" Dorothy asked.

"Save it? That's what I do." Aislynn said.

"Fair enough, Glinda, give that to my aunt." Dorothy said

"Give what to me?" Em asked coming into the room with a tray of mugs.

Glinda walked over to Em and took the try, she then brought her over to the couch and sat her down.

"Your Niece has been left a gift by Mr. Diggs." Glinda said handing her the check.

Em looked at the check for a second and her jaw dropped, Aislynn chuckled for she had seen this reaction before. Em handed the check to Dorothy and then slouched back on the couch.

"Well then, looks like we need to open you an account, but first have some hot chocolate." She said referring to the tray.

Dorothy smiled and took Toto off her lap. She then got up and took a mug from the tray and took a sip. She giggled and then walked out of the parlor. Letting go of the scepter and letting it follow her she walked to the kitchens. When she got there she found Jenny carrying a large tureen filled with her aunt's hot chocolate. She smiled and walked around jenny and took another sip of her own. It tasted delicious and rich. Dorothy then walked over to kitchen table and sat down. Setting down her mug she picked up the scepter and looked at the entry way to the kitchen. She then finished the hot chocolate in a few more gulps and sighed. She then got up and walked over to the kitchen window and looked out. Even the large shed in the back was decked out in holiday lights. Dorothy then reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys. Without even thinking about it she walked out the back door and ran to the shed. Letting go of the scepter she allowed it to follow behind her as she came to the door. Going through the keys and putting them in the lock one by one, she did this till the lock on the giant shed turned and allowed her entrance. When she pushed open the door she found the room was well looked after. In the middle stood the basket to a balloon that she had nearly once ridden in. she walked over to it and placed her hands on the edge of it. Looking into the basket she found it completely empty. She began to think about her first visit to Oz and wondered if it would have been scary to ride all the way from Oz to Kansas in the balloon. She was however broken from her thoughts by the feeling of someone's hands on her shoulders.

"Jessica said she had seen you run down here, so this is yours?" came the voice of Alex.

"Yes, but I'm kinda frightened of it to be honest." Dorothy said.

"Okay then, anyways, it's getting late and people want to see us dance again." Alex said.

"Well then, best not keep people waiting." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter.

Dorothy then grabbed Alex's hand and led him out of the shed, she then waved the scepter causing the door to shut and the lock to click. She felt her pocket to make sure she had remembered to put the keys back in there, and she had. She then ran back to the house dragging Alex behind her. Soon they were back inside the house and running to the ballroom. When they got in there and were about to cross the threshold when Auntie Em came and pushed them back. Dorothy looked at her aunt curiously. Her aunt pointed up and Dorothy followed her hand.

"Oh my." Dorothy exclaimed.

"What is it?" Alex asked curiously.

"Mistletoe." Dorothy said now noticing that all eyes including Ellie and aislynn's were on her and Alex.

"Henry get the camera." Em said.

"Really auntie Em?" Dorothy asked.

"First Christmas kiss." Em said teasingly.

"Curses, the old tradition trick." Dorothy said.

"Everyone in our family had their first Christmas kiss on a Christmas eve near 7 in the evening." Em said as henry came in with an instant develop camera, the bag for it, and small album.

Alex took the album and looked through it. He sighed and then handed the album back to Em. He then looked at Dorothy and sighed.

"Even your parents are in it." Alex and Henry said in unison.

Dorothy looked at them and sighed, they had her. She couldn't break the tradition, she didn't want to think that she would be breaking some strange tradition and feel that it would disappoint her parents.

"Just Kiss!" Aislynn shouted.

Dorothy looked at Aislynn then at Alex. She saw her uncle was now poised with the camera. Dorothy looked at Alex again and pulled him into a kiss. A large "Awe" was heard from the people surrounding them. Uncle Henry took a picture and placed it in the album. Dorothy and Alex the broke from the kiss and walked towards the center of the room. Ellie walked over and took the scepter f Aislynn walked over to the orchestra and put her hands up as if ready to conduct. Alex looked Dorothy in the eyes and took her hand. The music then began and Alex and Dorothy got into position. They then began to dance.

"Where did you learn to dance so beautifully?" Dorothy asked.

"Promise me you won't laugh when I tell you." Alex said.

"I promise." Dorothy replied.

"The truth is, I've been taking a variety of dance lessons for a while, ballroom, tap, jazz, everything but ballet I should think." Alex said.

"Alex, that's so sweet of you, is that what was in the bag you were carrying the first time I was at your house?" Dorothy asked as they continued to dance on

"If you mean dance shoes then yes, and it seems that other people have joined us in the dance." Alex said.

Dorothy said nothing at this remark. She just looked around the room. People had indeed joined in the dance they were doing. Even Dorothy's aunt and uncle had joined them. They danced for what felt like hours. But soon the music had begun to slow down and come to its end. Everyone else besides Dorothy and Alex had stopped dancing. As the music came to a stop so did they. They were once again met with an applause. Dorothy looked at Alex and took a bow. Dorothy then walked back over to the refreshment table and this time poured herself some eggnog and downed it in one go. She found that dancing definitely made her really thirsty. She then walked over to a chair and sat down. She then crossed one of her legs over the other and pulled off one of her flats. She then rubbed the sole of her foot for her feet had become sore with all the dancing. Alex walked over and grabbed a few pastries that had been set out. She held one out for Dorothy to take a bite, she did and savored it for a bit. She then smiled at him and slid her flat back on and took the pastry from him and finished it off.

"These are delicious." Dorothy said through a full mouth.

Alex chuckled and handed Dorothy a napkin. He then helped her up and Ellie ran over and handed her the scepter. Dorothy took the scepter and then leaned against it. She then yawned and stretched a bit. She then pushed herself up and sat back down.

"I think it's time for bed." Em remarked walking over.

"Not yet auntie Em, there's something else I wanted to do before the end of the night." Dorothy said.

"What's that dear?" Em asked.

Dorothy smiled and stood up. She then whispered something into her aunt's ear. She chuckled and ran over to henry and whispered it to him. He nodded and walked over to the orchestra. He then borrowed the violin of one of the musicians and played a long screeching note. This attracted everyone's attention.

"Sorry, I just couldn't think of a way attract everyone's attention, my niece has some things she wanted to say." Henry said signaling Dorothy.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to the small stage. She had a glass of punch in her hand now. She handed the scepter to her uncle. She then cleared her throat and took a small sip of punch.

"Yes, hello, as it is getting late and I didn't say it earlier, but I would like to propose a toast to Aislynn diggs, who put together this party, though she didn't do it alone I think personally it's an impressive turnout, and to that I toast her good health, and that she have a good life." Dorothy said.

"Here, here." Ellie shouted.

Everyone cheered and raised their glasses. Aislynn was standing there speechless. She ran over to Dorothy and embraced her tightly. It was then that Glinda walked up to them accompanied by her parents. Dorothy couldn't help but snicker at Mr. Uplands outfit. He was wearing a bright green suit with a red top hat, and a dress shirt with a candy cane pattern on it. Mrs. Upland however was wearing a normal party dress.

"That was a very kind thing you did Dorothy." Mrs. Upland said.

"Thanks Mrs. Upland, now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go to bed, I am actually really tired." Dorothy said starting to yawn.

"Well you were doing a lot of dancing." Glinda said chuckling

Dorothy smiled at Glinda and then took the scepter back from her uncle. She then walked out of the ballroom where she ran right into Jessica who was having a conversation with Mr. Foreman.

"Turning in for the night my dear?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"How'd you guess?" Dorothy asked.

"I'll show you to your room." Jessica said taking Dorothy's hand and leading her along.

They walked to the main area of the house and then up the stairs. Jessica led Dorothy to the room right next to aislynn's. Dorothy opened the door to find Mrs. Teak singing a lullaby to Annabella trying to get her to fall asleep after all this excitement. Dorothy then noticed there was a crib set up next to the bed.

"Annabella wouldn't stop begging us to allow her to let you sleep in the same room as her." Mrs. Teak whispered.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Dorothy said walking in.

"There's a nightgown for you in the closet in the event that you do decide to change out of the dress." Jessica whispered.

"Thanks jess." Dorothy said.

Jessica said nothing after this, she just nodded and walked away. Dorothy smiled and set the scepter down. She then walked over to the bed and sat down next to Mrs. Teak. Annabella yawned a bit and reached over to Dorothy. Dorothy smiled and took Annabella into her arms. Mrs. Teak smiled and got up and walked over to the door.

"You think you can get her to sleep?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"I hope so." Dorothy said.

"Well, I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to see if anyone needs help downstairs." Mrs. Teak said walking out of the room.

Dorothy smiled and looked at Annabella. Annabella nuzzled her face into Dorothy's chest. Dorothy chuckled and began to hum a lullaby. Annabella sighed in content and soon she was asleep. Dorothy smiled and carefully stood up. She then walked over to the crib and carefully put Annabella in it. She then stretched and walked back over to the bed and sat down on it. Sliding off her flats and placing them next to the bed she decided that she would change in the morning, she knew that her aunt had packed her a spare dress in the event that she had messed her current one in some way. Soon after Dorothy had gotten herself settled Mrs. Teak came back in and sighed in relief. She looked at Dorothy and smiled. She then chuckled a bit and shut the door. Dorothy herself smiled and soon she closed her eyes and was asleep.


	46. Christmas day

**Disclaimer you know.**

Dorothy awoke to find Alex standing in the doorway. She sat up and noticed that Annabella was no longer in her crib. She held out her hand and the scepter flew over to her. She then got up and looked at Alex.

"Everyone else was up about two hours ago." Alex said.

"What time is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Six in the morning." Alex said.

"How come you didn't wake me up?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"None of us had the heart to do it." Alex said.

"Has anyone opened presents yet?" Dorothy asked.

"No not yet, all presents have been transported to Oz, as well as everyone besides me and Mr. Foreman." Alex said.

"Why?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Because my dad said if I was going to stay then an adult had to stay as well." Alex said.

"Fair enough, that's your dads way of thinking, what about the maids? Surely they're still here." Dorothy said.

"Yea, but my father wanted another adult as well." Alex said.

"Ah, did my aunt leave my spare dress anywhere?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes, your aunt put your dress in the closet." Alex said before walked out.

Dorothy smiled and walked to the closet. Opening it she reached in and pulled out her spare dress and quickly changed into it. She then walked over to the bed and slid her flats on and then walked out of the room. When she got down stairs she found Mr. Foreman and Alex waiting for her.

"So, I would assume that Glinda is probably watching us?" Alex asked.

"Yea probably, but do you think she has a bucket set up?" Dorothy asked.

"I hope so, I am probably going to get sick again." Alex said.

"What does it feel like during the transport?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"Dizzying and nauseating at the same time." Dorothy said.

"I think I might have a bit of a solution." He said pulling out a small wax paper bag from his pocket and offered its contents to Alex.

"What's in it?" Alex asked curiously.

"Candied ginger." He replied.

Alex didn't even bother to question it, he just took a piece from the bag and popped it in his mouth. Mr. Foreman offered a piece to Dorothy but she politely declined. She had eaten candied ginger once when she was younger, and she knew she didn't really like it that much. Mr. Foreman shrugged and put the bag back in his pocket.

"Well then, is everyone ready?" Dorothy asked as the scepter began to glow brighter.

"I'm ready if you are." Alex said.

"Well then, grab on, you two Mr. Foreman." She said holding out the scepter.

Alex and Mr. Foreman both nodded and grabbed the scepter. Shortly after Dorothy felt herself lurch forward and she saw the usual scene of colors whizzing by her. She once more began to feel dizzy and sick. But she then found herself stopping abruptly and she fell forward into Glinda's arms.

"Ah, merry Christmas Dorothy." Glinda said.

"Merry Christmas Glinda." Dorothy replied catching her breath.

"So, nice place." Mr. Foreman said looking around.

"So you aren't even disturbed by the fact that we came here through magic?" Alex asked.

"Why should I be? I've live a good life, I've always wanted to do something amazing." Mr. Foreman.

"Fair enough." Alex said.

"Anyways, everyone is in the chambers." Glinda said.

It was then that Dorothy realized that they were in the banquet hall of the emerald city. She wondered why Glinda brought them here. But she shrugged this off. Glinda chuckled and walked around Dorothy and out of the banquet hall. Dorothy looked at Alex and Mr. Foreman who shrugged and followed Glinda. Dorothy then followed after them and as soon as she exited the banquet hall she found herself nearly tackled to the ground by Annabella. Finley then flew up to her.

"Come on Annabella." Finley said

"Merry Christmas Finley." Dorothy said.

"Yea, merry Christmas." He replied.

"Why are you chasing Annabella?" Alex asked walking over.

"She's been hyper all morning, she's been running around all morning." Finley said.

"Come on Annabella." Dorothy said picking her up

"Okay so she's fine around you." Finley said.

"Yea she likes Dorothy a lot." Glinda said.

"Yea well Ellie put me in charge of her, so have I failed my duty?" Finley asked worriedly.

"No, you haven't, but Ellie has definitely failed hers." Glinda said storming off to find her sister.

"Well that's a relief, come on you three, everyone else is in the chambers." Finley said leading them along.

Dorothy smiled and looked at Annabella who in turn looked at her as they walked along. Annabella then playfully tugged at Dorothy's hair.

"Annabella be gentle." Dorothy said wincing a bit as they walked into the chambers.

As soon as they arrived Dorothy set Annabella down as well as the scepter and marveled at what she was seeing. The chambers were completely decked out for the holiday, complete with a large Christmas tree where the throne normally stood. The presents were stacked up and neatly organized into separate piles. Dorothy smiled at the organization of the gifts.

"AH Dorothy gale." Came the voice of the Nome king.

"Hello Your majesty, Merry Christmas." Dorothy said.

"And same to you." The Nome king replied.

"So almost everyone is here then?" Mr. Teak asked.

"Just Glinda and Ellie are all we need." Aislynn said.

"Right, where did they…" Mr. Teak started to ask as Glinda came in dragging Ellie behind her.

"Sis I said I was sorry." Ellie said.

"So, you still put Finley in charge of Annabella." Glinda said.

"You put a chimp in charge of our daughter!?" Mr. Teak asked in a really concerned tone.

"Um, I'm a monkey thank you very much." Finley said.

"Whatever." Mr. Teak said.

"Right, anyways, let's not dwell on this we can argue about it later." Glinda said.

"Quite right Glinda." The Nome king said.

"Right anyways, I think we should let Annabella attack her pile first." Aunt Em and Aislynn said in unison.

"Agreed." Everyone said in unison.

Mrs. Teak then walked over and took Annabella's hand. She then led Annabella over to her pile of gifts. Surprisingly Annabella didn't seem too thrilled. She opened the gifts one by one. Most of the gifts were either more stuffed animals or picture books, typical things you would get a one year old girl. It wasn't until her last gift where it took a change.

"So this one is from you Dorothy." Mrs. Teak said handing it to Annabella.

"Best for last?" The Nome king asked chuckling.

Annabella opened the present and gasped, as did Mrs. Teak as Annabella pulled out a small silver locket and a few hair ribbons. What everyone's attention was on was the locket however. Dorothy smiled and walked over to Annabella and knelt down next to her.

"Open it." Dorothy whispered.

Annabella nodded and handed the locket to her mother to open. As soon as she did this and saw what was in it she chuckled in delight. She then handed the locket back to Annabella who giggled in delight.

"Dorothy." Annabella said hugging Dorothy.

"You're welcome Annabella." Dorothy said helping her put the locket on.

"What's in it?" Alex asked curiously.

"It's a picture of me, that way she can always have me with her." Dorothy said.

"Smart." Alex said.

"Dorothy should open hers next" Annabella said.

"I think that's fair, Dorothy?" Aislynn asked.

"Sure why not?" Dorothy said.

"Your pile is that one over there." Ellie said pointing over to the pile at the far end of the room.

Dorothy walked over to them and was about to say something when to her surprise Mr. and Mrs. Pryce walked in. Mr. Pryce was pale in the face and looked as if he had been vomiting for the last hour.

"So, you guys managed to convince him to come?" Dorothy asked.

"No, he asked if it would be alright if he and his wife tagged along." Glinda said.

"Fair enough, I see he took it well." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm dear." Mrs. Pryce said sarcastically.

"No problem." Dorothy replied.

"Hey Dorothy, before you start opening things, have you ever seen the scepter do that before?" Alex asked curiously.

Dorothy looked at Alex and then looked at the scepter. She was surprised to see the scepter glowing strangely. She held out her hand and the scepter flew into it. For a brief second alongside the red haze that was in the middle there was a small golden ball of light. But it faded as soon as it was in her grasp. She looked at Glinda curiously for an answer.

"I'll explain later dear." Glinda said.

"So nothing dangerous?" Dorothy asked.

"nope." Glinda replied smiling.

Dorothy shrugged and picked up one of the gifts. On the little tag that was on it she found that it was from her aunt and uncle. She opened it and revealed the small album that her uncle had placed the picture of her and Alex's Christmas kiss the night before.

"Now that we've added your picture in it, it can go to you." Henry said.

Dorothy said nothing in reply to this. She just flipped through the album, there was a picture of her great grandparents, a picture of her grandparents, a picture of her aunt and uncle, and a picture of her own parents before it came to hers and Alex's picture. She saw that each picture had an individual date and time stamp written in ink below the pictures. Each being either the twenty fourth or twenty fifth of December at seven in the evening. Dorothy smiled and placed the album aside. She then picked up another gift. This one was larger. She looked at the tag on it and found that it was from Ellie. Opening it revealed a book. Dorothy opened the book and found that every sketch she had made while she was here in the emerald city recently was now compiled together in this book. Ellie walked over and embraced Dorothy tightly.

"How did you manage this Ellie?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I had a little help, speaking of that, where is the china princess? I just realized that she and marshal mallow aren't here." Ellie said.

"I actually don't know." Glinda said getting up and walking over to the crystal ball.

She waved her wand over the ball and it immediately lit up. The scene changed to the china princess's room where she and Marshall Mallow were sharing a dance. Glinda sighed in frustration and then a crashing noise came from the back of the room.

"Sounds like your trio of friends are done for the day." The Nome king said as scarecrow tin man and lion came out from scarecrow's workshop.

"What did you guys do now?" Came the voice of Brianna from behind them.

"Brianna, I thought you and your parents went home for the holidays, everyone else did, even Alyssa and Elena." Ellie said turning around.

"Mom and dad are busy running business, so I decided to stay down at the parlor, merry Christmas by the way." Brianna said walking over.

"Same to you." Ellie replied.

"Thanks for showing concern Brianna, but we were just dismantling the old rainbow mover." Scarecrow said.

"And it didn't quite go, as planned." Tin man said in a tone of disappointment.

"Wait, so you guys figured it would be a good idea to dismantle heavy machinery while there are loads of people in here?" Dorothy asked looking at her friends with a surprised look.

"You know, the kid has a point, I mean what if it exploded?" Lion asked curiously.

"It doesn't have any components that can explode, several large metal pieces that are extremely heavy yes, combustible explosive parts, no, mostly because well, I'm made of straw." Scarecrow said.

"Okay, can we get back to the gift opening?" Aislynn and Mr. Teak asked in unison.

"Sure." Dorothy said.

She picked up another gift and found that it was from the china princess. Before she even got a chance to open it both the china princess and Marshall Mallow ran in panting.

"Sorry about that, we got a little, carried away." The china princess said through her breaths.

"Okay now the gang is definitely all here." Glinda said.

"Right, anyways." Dorothy said opening the gift.

Inside the gift from the china princess was a beautiful dress that looked as if she herself could have designed it. In fact it looked like one she would have designed. She looked at the china princess and smiled. The princess put up her hand as if to signal that Dorothy need not say anything about it. Dorothy smiled and stood up, letting the scepter float next to her so she could hold the dress out in front of her. It looked like it would fit her perfectly and it was definitely beautiful. It was light blue from the collar down until it got to the midsection, from the mid-section down the color faded from red to bright pink. She then folded up the dress and placed it to the side before sitting back down to open another gift.

"I think it's a beautiful dress." Em said.

"Same here." Dorothy said.

She then picked up another gift and found that it was from scarecrow, tin man and lion. She opened it and it revealed what looked like a music box. When she opened it she saw that in the middle was a small standing statue of herself and all of her friends. She then wound it up and it began to play a tune that she knew she had heard before but she couldn't place it.

"Thank you guys." Dorothy said shutting the music box.

"We all worked together on it." Scarecrow said.

Dorothy chuckled and placed the music box to the side and picked up the gift from Aislynn. As she opened it, the contents revealed a diary.

"Your aunt told me that you had never kept a diary so I wondered if it would be something you would want to try." Aislynn said.

"Yea, I have actually thought of keeping a diary, don't know why I never did it though." Dorothy said.

"Well, you are an open minded person at any rate." Aislynn said.

"Thanks ace." Dorothy said.

Aislynn smiled and then signaled for Dorothy to open another gift. There were now only three left in the pile. She then heard the sound of both Donna and Kelly yawning. Dorothy looked over to them and they both gave fake coughs to cover it. They had both been completely silent in their entire time here that Dorothy didn't even notice them. She picked up one of the gifts and found that it was from Alex. She looked at him curiously and opened it. She gasped at the contents, Alex had gotten her a beautiful necklace with a small ruby in the center of it. Everyone besides Mr. Teak gave a collective gasp at the sight of it.

"Alex, how did you ever come to afford that?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"By helping in the shop, I worked up a deal with dad." Alex said.

"Thank you alex." Dorothy said as Ellie helped her put it on.

"Open ours next." Donna said.

Dorothy looked at her last two gifts, one was a medium sized rectangular box and a rectangular wrapped gift that was shorter than the box in length, but larger in width. Opening it revealed a picture of her friends. All of them in a group photo. She looked at Donna and Kelly curiously and then wondered when they had the time to do this. But she didn't bother to question it.

"One gift left, it's from the Nome king and me." Glinda said chuckling.

"Well, knowing you Glinda, its either something amazing, or judging by how the scepter reacted earlier rather worrying." Dorothy said chuckling.

"You basically just described her and I working together in a geode." The Nome king said chuckling.

"What's a geode?" Alex asked curiously.

Both Mr. Pryce and the Nome king looked at him curiously. Mr. Pryce then thought about it for a minute and then chuckled.

"That's right you were out that day." Mr. Pryce said.

"That doesn't answer my question." Alex said.

"A geode is basically a large round stone with crystals on the inside, crack it in half and you get a beautiful looking decoration." The Nome king said.

"We should show him one at some point." Glinda said.

"I think there's something about it in that book Dorothy used to make Ellie's prism necklace." Scarecrow said.

"Well don't go checking now, I want everyone to see what we got Dorothy." Glinda said smiling.

"Yea, what did you two get her? You have managed to keep that a secret." The princess said.

"Then that narrows it down to something amazing, to something only slightly more worrying than before." Alex said.

"Don't correct my statements dear." Dorothy said smiling.

"Sorry, anyways just pick it up and open it." Alex said.

Dorothy nodded and picked up the box. As her hands touched it the scepter gave a bright flash and grew dim after a second. Glinda chuckled again, and this time the Nome king joined her. Dorothy looked at them for a seconds and then opened it. Inside was a shoe box, plain looking, and beige colored cardboard.

"Okay, so sis, what did you get Dorothy?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Can we let her open it first?" Alex asked looking at Ellie.

"I agree." Donna said.

"As do I." came Kelly's reply.

"Just open it!" Came a scream from Annabella making everyone jump.

"Okay, before she screams again, can we please just let her open it and get this over with?" Finley asked checking his pulse.

Dorothy nodded and opened the box. For a moment she met with a dazzling red light that made her look away and shield her eyes. She assumed this was the part she should find rather worrying but the red glow was familiar and welcoming to her. Toto barked a few times and ran over to Dorothy. Jumping into her lap, Dorothy knew Toto was most likely looking into the box while she was turned away. Toto barked a few more times this time in excitement.

"Dorothy, open your eyes." Toto said.

"Why what is it boy?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Just look." Toto replied.

Dorothy was surprised that Toto was acting like this. But she wasn't ready to argue this and opened her eyes. Turning her head to look back into the box she gasped at what she saw and nearly fainted. Scarecrow, tin man and lion walked over to get a closer look. The scarecrow chuckled for a second and looked at his comrades.

"Well, doesn't this bring back memories?" He said jokingly.

"Why? What is it?" Alex, Em and henry asked in unison.

Dorothy looked at them and smiled, then ever so slowly she set the box down in front of her and took Toto off her lap. She then leaned over and reached into the box and pulled out the ruby slippers. Everyone gasped, with the exception of Annabella and Mr. Foreman who were just amazed.

"Glinda, and your majesty, I, I d-don't know what to say." Dorothy said stuttering a bit.

"Say nothing about it then my dear girl." The Nome king replied.

"But, I must, I just can't find the words." Dorothy said.

"That's a first." Ellie, Alex, and Aislynn said in unison.

"There will be a lot of firsts in our lifetimes, what you really need to care about are the lasts." Mr. Foreman said chuckling.

"Nicely said Mr. Foreman." Glinda said chuckling.

"But sis, however did you manage to find them, you told me they were lost forever." Ellie said beginning to question her sister's honesty.

"They fell into my domain during Dorothy's first trip to Oz, I have kept them protected, and hidden away from all for many years, I expected the Glinda suspected it, and I was right." The Nome king said lighting up his pipe, "she came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I could do her a favor, her favor was to return these to you, what bothers me the most however is that she knew I had them." He said after taking a few puffs of his pipe.

Dorothy had tears of happiness streaking down her face at this point. She looked at the scepter which now had returned to its normal state. It was then that Dorothy thought about something for a second. How could Glinda have possibly known that the Nome king what truly in possession of the slippers? She didn't however dwell on this for very long because it would spoil her good mood.

"Two objects of power, united at last." Ellie said chuckling.

"How do you mean?" Alex asked curiously.

"I'll explain later." Dorothy said taking off her flats and sliding on the slippers.

"They still fit you perfectly, after all this time." Scarecrow said.

"They belong to her, they bend to her needs." Glinda said.

"Do they still work the same way?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes." The Nome king replied.

Dorothy smiled and plucked the scepter out of the air. As her fingers closed around it, the scepter began to glow brightly, sending a wisp of light out of the orb at the top down to the ruby slippers. As the light hit the slippers they began to glow brightly. Dorothy looked at Glinda and the Nome king curiously for answers.

"The scepter is transforming them into footwear that you are more comfortable with." The Nome king said chuckling.

Dorothy smiled and looked down at the slippers. The slippers turned into shoes similar to flats but with a heel maybe a corner of an inch thick. The glow then subsided and the transformation was complete. Dorothy felt as if she were being reunited with an old friend. She smiled and walked over to Glinda and the Nome king and hugged them both tightly. She then walked over to her aunt and uncle and did the same. She continued this pattern with all of her friends until she got back over to Alex whom she kissed on the cheek. She then smiled and looked at her friends.

"Thank you, and if no body objects I think I'm going to head to my room." Dorothy said.

"That's alright dear, but why?" Em asked curiously.

"I want to relax for a bit." Dorothy said tightening her grasp on the scepter.

"Okay dear, that's alright" Em said.

Dorothy sighed and walked out of the chambers. It didn't take her long to get back to her room. She walked over to her bed and sat down on it. She then pulled off the slippers and held them in her hands. They brought back the memories of her first visit to Oz. her feelings of happiness however were broken by the strange feeling that she wasn't alone here. She hated this feeling, it most of the time meant that the jester was near.

"So, my sister's idea out done by a little girl." Came the voice of the jester from behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Dorothy asked not even turning around.

"It's the holidays, even my sisters wouldn't do anything evil during the holidays." He said doing a flip in the air so that he could see her face.

Dorothy looked up and him with a look of pure venom. The jester backed away immediately into Glinda.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Wow, it's really echoing in here today isn't it, you knew my family well enough, neither of my sisters would do anything bad during the holidays, and I intend to follow that pattern." The jester said.

"How do I know your being truthful?" Glinda asked curiously.

"You know how you can find out." The jester said.

"Glinda, he's right." Dorothy said getting up and walking over to the dresser.

She then knocked on it twice and it opened. Dorothy pulled out the book and set it on her bed.

"The truth hurts doesn't it?" The jester asked curiously.

"No one knows it better than me." Glinda said sighing and walking over to the book.

As she approached the book she sighed and opened it. Immediately the book began to float in the air so that the spine of the book could face the jester. Glinda's eyes darted around the page of the book she was on and soon after Glinda plucked the book from the air and sighed.

"You win this round, but I've got my eye on you." She said placing the book back into the dresser.

"Should I expect better from you, sweet Glinda?" The jester asked teasingly.

"Has everyone else opened their gifts yet?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Dorothy are wondering how you ever managed to afford such gifts, I mean you got Ellie a silver heart shaped locket with a picture of her an I in it, you got Aislynn a locket with the picture of her grandfather in it, I see a pattern here but how could you afford all those?" Glinda asked curiously.

"I got help from my aunt mostly." Dorothy replied.

"Ah how sweet." The jester said making a gagging noise.

"You should probably go." Dorothy said glaring daggers at him.

"I figured you didn't want me to stick around, well then, merry Christmas." He said vanishing.

"You know, just his presence gives me the creeps." Dorothy said.

"I can imagine." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and placing a hand under her chin.

Dorothy looked up at Glinda and smiled. She was about to say something when her aunt and uncle appeared in the doorway. They were followed by Ellie, Aislynn, Alex, and Mr. and Mrs. Teak. Annabella was currently whimpering in her mother's arm at the thought of the jester even being there.

"So, he was here then?" Alex asked.

"Yep." Dorothy said.

"Thanks for the watch by the way." Alex said holding up a pocket watch.

"You're welcome." Dorothy said.

"We've sent the Maitlands home, Mr. Foreman insisted he stay." Ellie said.

"How?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Dorothy believe or not we have set up precautions in the event that the jester shows up." Glinda said.

"And behind my back?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"We've been planning them for a while, you couldn't know because you would be against it dear." Em said.

"Auntie Em, it's not that I don't agree that precautions were needed, but why not tell me about it?" Dorothy asked.

Because once again, you would be against it." Em repeated.

"Okay then." Dorothy said sitting down on the bed.

"You guys, I think we should just leave Dorothy alone for now." Alex said.

"I think that would be a good idea." Dorothy said.

Alex nodded as her friends, as well as her family walked out. She then picked up the scepter and waved it in the direction of the door. Which slammed shut and locked. She began to wonder why her friends always kept these things a secret from her. She knew they had their reasons but she still wondered why everything was being kept from her.

_Meanwhile in the library._

After they had left Dorothy's room and back to the chambers, scarecrow, Alex, Aislynn, Ellie and Annabella went to the library. Alex was keeping his sister from running around everywhere and hurting herself. Ellie and Aislynn were helping the scarecrow organize some books.

"So, Dorothy and alex had their first Christmas kiss last night." Aislynn said handing some books to the scarecrow.

"That's sweet." Scarecrow said.

"Yea, mistletoe trap." Ellie said climbing up the bookshelf.

"Ellie please don't do that." Scarecrow said placing the books on the shelf.

"No I mean seriously, mistletoe trap." Ellie said getting on top of the book shelf and holding a sprig of mistletoe over scarecrow and Aislynn.

"Oh now that's not fair." Aislynn said.

"Oh it's completely fair." Ellie said chuckling.

Scarecrow chuckled and finished putting away the books. He then jumped off the ladder and was immediately pulled into a quick kiss by Aislynn causing him to physically blush.

"There happy now?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Quite." Ellie said slipping the mistletoe back into her pocket.

"Okay, let's agree never to do that again." Scarecrow said as he finished blushing.

"Agreed." Aislynn said.

"So, how are you going to re-create the rainbow mover?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Well first I'm going to start with a new design." Scarecrow said.

"Can I help?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Only if Dorothy approves." Scarecrow said.

"Fair enough." Aislynn said.

"You know, I feel like we should really stop keeping these things from Dorothy." Ellie said.

"Ellie, you know Dorothy doesn't want us to be doing stuff like our secret meetings to get precautions in place." Scarecrow said.

"Scarecrow, she is really upset by the fact that we keep this stuff from her." Glinda said walking into the room.

"I know, but you're the one who said it would be best." Scarecrow said.

"I know what I said, but I feel like sooner or later we'll drive her to the point where she just stops trusting us and take things into her own hands." Glinda said.

"But she promised she wouldn't run off." Ellie said.

"And you promised you'd watch my sister, what's your argument!?" Alex shouted.

"Okay definitely not keeping in the Christmas spirit but, never mind." Aislynn said.

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Gale?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"They've gone to Dorothy's room with Mr. Foreman as well as Alex's parents to see if they can comfort her, or if she just needs a bit of a cool down." Glinda said.

"But Dorothy surely locked the door to her room at this point." Ellie said.

"I gave them a key to her room." Glinda said.

"Fair enough, Merry Christmas." He said walking past Glinda and out of the library.

"Do you really think that Dorothy would actually run off on her own?" Aislynn asked worriedly.

"Sadly yes, the secrets we keep from her about our preparations for war, we are doing more harm to her emotionally and mentally than we are helping her." Glinda said.

"Well, I, um, oh Mr. Foreman where's Mr. and Mrs. Gale?" Ellie asked as he walked over.

"Currently trying to convince Dorothy that you guys were doing this to try and help her." Mr. Foreman said.

"Oh dear, I think we should probably go talk to her." Ellie said looking at her sister.

"Agreed." Glinda said taking her sister's hand and walking out followed by everyone else.

_Meanwhile back in Dorothy's room._

"Auntie Em, what I'm still not getting is why you guys can't tell me how this is supposed to help me." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, like we said we are doing this to help." Henry said.

"But help with what, I don't want this going to all-out war." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, please just don't worry about it." Henry said.

"How can I not worry about it, not only is this happening on Christmas, but this is happening for what? The third maybe fourth time?" Dorothy asked sounding frustrated.

"Dorothy my dear, please calm down." Came Glinda's voice as she walked in.

"Then tell me why you guys have been having secret meetings behind my back." Dorothy said.

"Because, Dorothy whether you like it or not this will most likely lead to all-out war." Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and placing a hand under her chin.

"You keep saying that but you never let me get a say in the happenings." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, how about this, we'll allow you to sit on the meetings from here on out, I admit that my decision to keep you out of this stuff was a poor choice on my part but I thought I had my reasons." Glinda said.

"I think that's fair enough, but no more secret meetings." Dorothy said.

"That's a fair deal." Glinda and scarecrow said in unison.

"Um Glinda, if you wouldn't mind, I think it's about time my husband and I be getting home." Mrs. Teak said interrupting.

"When should I send alex and Annabella?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Whenever they get bored I guess." Mr. Teak said.

"Okay then." Glinda said waving her wand causing them to vanish.

"Actually speaking of that Glinda, would you mind sending henry and I back home as well, I know you've been sending everyone back to the manor, we do want to get home before dark." Em said.

"Sure, Mr. Foreman would you like to head back to Kansas as well?" Glinda asked curiously.

"No thank you, not right now." He said

"Okay then." Glinda said waving her wand causing Em and henry to vanish.

Dorothy sighed and sat down on the bed. She then picked up the slippers and slid them on. She immediately felt a warmth spread through her and tranquility that she normally felt when she used the pink orb. She then sat up and looked at Glinda for a second.

"Do you mind if I do a little bit of traveling using the slippers?" Dorothy asked.

"Depends on where you want to go." Glinda said.

"Shall I make a list of possible places and submit it for your approval?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure." Glinda replied.

"Well then, oh looks like Annabella needs a nap." Dorothy said looking over at Alex who was holding a yawning Annabella in his arms.

"I'll go set up a crib in Ellie's room, you don't mind sis do you?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Not at all sis, just don't make a mess of things." Ellie said walking out.

"Fair enough, alex take her to Ellie's room." Glinda said.

Alex nodded and walked out and in the direction of Ellie's room.

"When will that tea be ready?" Mr. Foreman asked curiously.

"Soon I except." Glinda said.

"Great, well I'll be at the chambers waiting for the tea." He said walking out.

"Mr. Foreman." Dorothy called.

"Yes Dorothy my dear?" he asked popping his head back in the room.

"Merry Christmas." She said chuckling.

"Same to you my dear." He replied before leaving.

"Dorothy, can you promise me something?" Glinda asked turning to face her once more.

"That all depends." Dorothy replied.

"On what?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Whether or not you're going to tell me the same thing you guys have been telling me, which is not to go looking for the jester." Dorothy said.

"Well, never mind then." Glinda said.

Glinda then smiled and placed a hand under Dorothy's chin. Slightly tilting her head to the left and right. She then chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I'll explain later, I should probably go set up the crib in Ellie's room, Merry Christmas." Glinda said smiling and walking out of room.

Dorothy smiled and down on her bed. She then giggled and lay back. She found this Christmas one the best ones she had so far, and this one was finally spent with friends. She then got up and walked over to the window. It had started snowing. She smiled, sat down, and watched.


	47. During the break pt1

**Disclaimer, usual**

After Christmas had come and gone Dorothy asked Glinda if she could stay in the emerald city for a while. Glinda was fine with this as was everyone else, Dorothy's aunt and uncle were fine with it as well, so long as she kept safe and didn't do anything rash. Dorothy also asked Glinda if she could return her friend's home so they could all finally get a chance to relax. The only person that was against this action was alex, but he didn't have much time to say something before he, Annabella, Ellie, Mr. foreman and Aislynn were whisked off back to Kansas.

"I take it you don't just want to stay here to relax then?" Glinda asked curiously.

"No Glinda, anyways, when do I ever get to relax anymore?" Dorothy asked.

Glinda said nothing in response to this, Dorothy was right. Ever since the jester returned the closest thing to relaxation the child had gotten was being a cat. Glinda looked down at Dorothy placed a hand under her chin.

"I have some business to attend to, try to stay out of trouble." She said smiling.

Dorothy looked up at Glinda and their eyes met for a moment. Glinda's eyes once more had that hint of sorrow and regret to them that Dorothy had seen long ago. She shrugged this off and sighed heading back to her bedroom. As she walked back she looked down at her feet, she had decided keeping the slippers with her would be the best way to keep them from falling into the wrong hands.

"You know, its times like this when I wonder whether or not the jester is really worth all the worry." Dorothy said to herself.

_Meanwhile in the jester's hideout_

The jester once more was mixing stuff in the cauldron. The mixture in it had turned into an oozing crimson paste. At the same time he was listening to what was going on in the city while reading the recipe.

"Am I worth all the worry? Probably not, it's what I'm creating that you'll have to worry about." He turning away from the cauldron.

He looked at the book and then at the crystal ball. He chuckled and flicked the wand making the glass bottle with the hair ribbon in it appear.

"Soon, it will be time for this final ingredient, and then the next part of my play will be complete." He said laughing evilly.

_Back in the emerald city._

"Dorothy?" Came the voice of scarecrow from behind her.

Dorothy turned her head to look back at the scarecrow. He was standing in the doorway with Toto in his arms.

"Where was he?" She asked as Toto jumped out of scarecrows arms and ran over to her.

"He was in the library, sleeping in one of the arm chairs." Scarecrow said.

"Thanks for bringing him here, Toto how did you get into the library anyways?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I pushed the door open but I couldn't get out, so I just walked over to the chairs and took a nap knowing someone would show up sooner or later." He said.

"Well, don't do that again." Dorothy said scolding him.

"Sorry." He replied whimpering.

"So, Glinda said you were a bit stressed." Scarecrow said walking over to her.

"At this point I think I'm slightly more than stressed." She replied turning back to her work.

"What are you working on?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"Another drawing, I find that it's a great way to relieve stress." Dorothy said sketching some things out on the paper.

"That's nice, well, I have to get back to building the new rainbow mover." He said turning around and walking for the door.

"Be careful." Dorothy called.

"No promises." He replied chuckling.

Dorothy smiled and then brought her concentration back on her work. After a while she got bored and looked around her room. The scepter was floating in the corner of the room waiting for her to need its power. Toto was now sitting on the window sill watching the scenery of oz. she got up and held out her hand. As the scepter met with her grasp and she closed her fingers around it she felt she felt herself suddenly lurch forward. This sudden transport shocked her so much that she didn't even feel sick or dizzy. The fact that this came without warning made her feel that this must be the jester's work. However she felt her feet make contact with a carpeted floor. Falling forward she let go of the scepter and found herself in the arms of someone she didn't recognize the grasp of. The embrace was warm and welcoming, but it was unfamiliar.

"Welcome, Dorothy gale." Came a sweet and calm voice.

Dorothy looked up and found herself face to face with someone who made out to be a spitting image of Glinda. The only difference was that she wore a gown white as the snow that fell outside the evening before. Her blue eyes similar to those of Glinda's, but warmer, and they didn't hold that hint of regret that Glinda's did. Her hair also had streaks of white in it that were unnoticeable unless you really looked into the blonde-orange locks.

"Locasta!?" Came the voice of Alyssa.

"Yes Alyssa?" Locasta asked looking behind her.

"I was wondering if Terrance and I could, oh hello Dorothy. When did you arrive?" Alyssa asked as she walked into the room carrying a bowl of fruit.

"Just a few seconds ago." Dorothy said catching her breath and standing up.

"Ah, so little time to prepare" Alyssa said setting the bowl down on a nearby pedestal.

"Prepare for what?" Dorothy asked holding hand out for the scepter, it how ever did not float to her hand like it normally did.

Dorothy was perplexed by this and looked around for it. Only to find it already in Locasta's grip. She sighed and relief, she then walked over to Locasta to retrieve it but the women took a step back as she got closer.

"Dorothy, I'm sorry but Glinda has made it quite clear not to let you have this back till we've relieved you of your stress." Locasta said as Glinda appeared next to her.

"Glinda, you said that was my protection, if you think I'm stressed now, not having the scepter is going to stress me out even more!" Dorothy said starting to raise her voice.

"Dorothy, there is no need to worry." Glinda said.

"Glinda, please, just have her return the scepter." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, take some deep breaths, take a seat." Locasta said waving her hand, making a chair materialize behind Dorothy.

Dorothy sighed and sat down. She looked at them, the scepter had gone dark except for the red haze that remained in the center. Glinda chuckled and waved her own hand making Dorothy's boots appear in front of her. Dorothy looked at Glinda with a face of shock.

"Glinda, no, I won't give up the slippers now." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, don't worry about it, please just listen." Glinda said approaching her.

Dorothy looked at Glinda and sighed. She then felt a hand on her shoulder. Dorothy looked behind herself to see her aunt standing behind her with Alex at her side.

"Auntie Em, what are you doing here?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Dorothy, you can't hide the fact that you are stressed out, so we decided that we would help." Em and Alex said in unison.

"That sounded rather rehearsed." Dorothy said.

"It was." Alex replied.

"Well then, get on with it." Dorothy said as Glinda handed her the boots.

"Alyssa, Terrance, Alex and I are going to take you on a camping trip in a place known as Spring Lake, though technically after seeing it I'd call it more of a valley then a lake, but it's the only place in Oz where it's always warm and sunny." Em said.

It was then that a thought struck Dorothy. A camping trip? Where did this idea come from? She looked at Glinda then sighed in defeat. She knew she wouldn't be able to win the upcoming argument anyways. She slid off the slippers and took her boots from Glinda. Alex then came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Dorothy. At this point she felt like she could handle it but she wasn't used to not having the scepter with her at this point.

"Spring lake or valley if you prefer is within my domain, and under both mine and Glinda's protection, nothing can get in there unless we allow it, the blood bond of magic is something very hard to break." Locasta said looking at her cousin.

"So that's supposed to make me worry even less?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I would hope so." Locasta replied.

"Glinda, I'm going to turn to you for this one, didn't we already establish that the jester could get through your defenses?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes, and that's why we are using double the magic as well as a family bond, two sorceresses from the same family can create protection more powerful than anyone could ever get through." Glinda said as Locasta walked up to them.

"Does Ellie know about this?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Ellie I think realizes it." Glinda said sighing.

"So, when are we going to get this camping trip done and over with?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"As soon as we establish some ground rules." Glinda said as Alyssa walked over and Terrance walked into the room.

"Packing has already been done, Ellie and Aislynn are at the emerald city, and they will watch Toto and handle things in the city." Em said.

"So what are the ground rules?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Okay, well one, you are not to run off." Glinda said.

"Glinda you don't need to tell me that, you guys are always telling me that." Dorothy said.

"Secondly, any activity that your aunt, Alex, Alyssa, or Terrance come up with you should do, sure we can't really force you to do something you don't want to." Glinda said.

"I can live with that." Dorothy replied.

"Three, you will have very limited access you anything magic, Alyssa will have one of the cooking pots with her, as well as the tents." Glinda said snapping her fingers causing the pocket compendium to fly out of Dorothy's pocket.

"What am I going to do with that thing? It's not like I know sorcery." Dorothy said.

"Yes, this is true, but we don't want to take risks." Glinda said.

"Fair enough, any other rules?" Dorothy asked.

"Just one, don't do anything rash, relatively stupid, or dangerous." Glinda said.

"And the consequences for breaking those rules?" Dorothy asked.

"We'll come up with those if it comes down to it." Glinda replied.

"Okay then." Dorothy said getting up.

"So, a camping trip, that's a first for me." Alex said.

"I haven't been on a camping trip that didn't involve trying to get to the emerald city or trying to find the jester in a long time." Dorothy said.

"Your uncle and I are actually thinking about taking you guys on a camping trip this summer." Em replied.

"Define you guys." Dorothy said.

"You, Ellie, Aislynn, the Teaks, Donna and Kelly, and Mr. Foreman who suggested the idea." Em said walking in front of her.

"I think that would be nice, what about the Maitlands though?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"They've already made traveling plans for the summer." Alex said.

"Well then." Dorothy said.

"We'll be sending you guys in a few minutes, the campsite is already set up, as I sent Alyssa to do that ahead of time." Locasta said.

"And on that note, remember the rules, try to relax, and try to have a bit of fun." Glinda said picking up the slippers and waving her wand in their direction.

Dorothy then felt herself lurch forward and they were off.


	48. During the break pt2

**Disclaimer, the usual.**

Dorothy quickly began to feel nauseous and dizzy. But this didn't last long because Dorothy then felt herself fall forward and managed to catch herself before hitting the ground.

"One of these days I'm going to get hurt because of that." Dorothy said to anyone who would listen.

"Don't worry, you get used to it." Alyssa said running over to Dorothy and helping her up.

"Thanks." Dorothy said looking around.

Dorothy found that they were standing right next to a large crystal blue lake. Not far off from it were three of the large canvas tents she was accustom to seeing with members of Glinda's army. Alex was on all fours out of breath. Em was talking to Terrance who was now completely pale.

"He and alex don't seem to be able to cope with magical transport, though I guess you can't either so I guess it's all good." Alyssa said.

"This place is really beautiful." Dorothy said looking around.

"Yes, it is, Terrance and I have come here a lot in the recent months." Alyssa said leading Dorothy over to the tents.

Dorothy ran over to Alex and helped him up. She then looked at the tents.

"That one there will be the one you and your aunt will stay in." Alyssa said pointing over to the tent closest to her.

"Alex is staying in that one there." Em said pointing to the tent next door.

"And Terrance and I will be using the tent over there." Alyssa said pointing to the one across from both the tents.

Dorothy nodded and walked over to the door of the tent. As she looked inside she found that the set up was the usual one that she was accustom to. It looked similar to the one she and Ellie used the first time they met. The only difference was the beds were both a plain cream color. In the back was the normal sign that said washroom on it. Alex then came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ever been fishing before?" Alex asked curiously.

"A long time ago, I hardly remember it now." Dorothy replied.

"Well your aunt thought that would be a nice activity to start with." Alex said taking her by the wrist pulling her along.

He led Dorothy over to Alyssa's tent where they found, her, Terrance and aunt Em setting up fishing supplies. Dorothy walked over to her aunt and assisted her with putting one of the fishing poles together.

"Thanks dear." Em said.

"No problem, what are we going to use for bait?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I have tradition bait, aka worms, but your aunt brought these neat looking lures." Alex said pulling out a small tin can.

"You've been planning this all day haven't you?" Dorothy asked as they all walked out of the tent and up to a dock not far from the site.

Alyssa stayed down at the shore and cast a line into the water. Dorothy sat down at the edge of the dock, as did Alex. He took a rod from Dorothy's aunt and baited the hook. He then cast the line in and handed the rod to Dorothy. She smiled and waited. After a few minutes she felt tension on the rod and began to reel it in. slowly at first but then as she got it closer to. She hand managed to catch a small fish that Alex helped her release from the hook and back into the water. She had to admit that it was amusing. She handed the pole back to Alex and then leaned forward do she could lie down on her stomach. She looking into the crystal clear water and saw her reflection looking back at her. She remembered fishing for the first time a long time ago with her parents.

"_Dorothy don't get to close to the edge of the dock, you'll fall in." Her dad said picking her up and carrying her back to her mom._

"_Sorry poppa, can I fish?" Dorothy asked._

"_Dorothy, I think you're a little too young to be fishing." Her dad replied._

"_Please?" Dorothy begged._

"_Oh come on dear, let her at least hold the pole." Her mom said._

_Mr. Gale looked at his wife and sighed._

"_Yes dear." He said as Dorothy squealed with delight and ran back over to the dock._

"_Thanks momma." Dorothy said as her father ran over and picked up the pole._

_He then cast the line back in and handed it to Dorothy. Taking one of her hands and placing it on the reel. It surprisingly wasn't long before the rod began to twitch._

"_Oh, I think you go something." He said slowly guiding Dorothy's hand to turn the reel._

_Just then the line went taut and Dorothy's father helped her reel it in. after a few seconds they landed the fish and her father allowed her to release the fish back into the wild._

"_That was a good job Dorothy." her mother said walking over._

"_Thank you momma." Dorothy said letting the fish go back into the water._

"_You're really growing up." her dad replied._

"_But I don't want to grow up." Dorothy said going into a pout._

"_Everyone has to grow up." Her mom replied._

"_But can I still be a kid?" Dorothy asked curiously as her father cast the line in again._

"_What's the point in being an adult if you can't act childish every now and again?" her father asked._

"_I don't know poppa." Dorothy replied._

"_That was a rhetorical question dear." Her mom said kissing her on the cheek._

"Dorothy?" Alex said snapping Dorothy out of her thoughts.

Dorothy looked down to see Alex's reflection next to her own. The look on his face was one of concern. She knew she had been remembering. He knew it as well. She sigh out of embarrassment. She then got up and looked at him.

"I was doing it again wasn't I?" Dorothy asked.

"What were you remembering this time?" Alex asked curiously

"Remember how I said I hadn't been fishing in a long time, and that I hardly remember it?" Dorothy asked.

"You remembered it didn't you?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Dorothy said.

"I would have liked to meet your parents." Alex said.

"I wish I had gotten to know them better." Dorothy said sitting down on the dock, pulling off her boots and placing her feet in the water.

"Dorothy, I didn't upset you did I?" Alex asked.

"No, it's just, oh never mind." She said looking at her feet refracted in the clear water.

"We don't have to talk about it, I know it hurts you to even think about them." Alex said.

Dorothy was about to respond when she heard the jester's voice in her head.

"_Soon my dear, soon I shall have the upper hand." _She heard him say.

"Dorothy, what's wrong?" he asked dropping the fishing rod and kneeling down next to her.

"He's ready to do something, he's preparing something." Dorothy said as she passed out.


	49. The jesters plan

**Disclaimer, usual,**

_In the jester's hideout._

The jester had moved the cauldron to where the crystal ball normally stood. The mixture was rapidly changing colors. It was going from crimson to yellow as a sunflower, to an odd shade of maroon, and so on.

"Once the mixture turns gold I have only a few seconds to add the ribbon." He said taking out the vial.

He then turned to crystal ball. They had moved Dorothy into her tent. Locasta was at her bedside now. Glinda had returned to the emerald city and people were getting ready in the event that he launched an invasion.

"_Do you think he will attack the city?" _alex asked Alyssa as they walked into the tent.

"_I don't think so, he would appear as a giant head floating in the sky." _Alyssa said.

"Smart girl." he said turning back to the mixture.

It bubbled and frothed violently. It was now a deep scarlet and he knew the mixture would soon be ready. he had already put a stop on the relaxation, he wanted them to be sure they knew they couldn't relax, not as long as he was around. There was no time for a false sense of security.

"_When do you think she'll wake?" _Alex asked walking up to Dorothy's bedside.

"_A few hours I assume, according to glinda he's done this before." _Locasta said placing a hand on Dorothy's forehead.

"ah Locasta, you don't get it do you." He said pointing the wand over the crystal ball.

He chuckled and looked down at the mixture. The wind began to whirl around him. It was time. The mixture was beginning to shimmer, he opened the vial and held it over the cauldron.

"_I think he's got something odd planned." _Locasta said.

"If only you knew." He said as the mixture turned a glowing gold.

He smiled and dropped the ribbon in. the mixture then began to bubble up violently. It began to look as though it was about to bubble over the mixture exploded in a bright flash of light and a large plume of smoke filled the room. as the smoke cleared he was met with what looked like a lifelike dummy of Dorothy. he laughed and walked up to it snapping his fingers in front of its eyes. They blinked and turned to face him.

"What is it that you wish?" she asked in monotone.

The jester laughed in delight, he now had an almost exact carbon copy of Dorothy gale, and now he could use it to his advantage.


	50. Good news, more problems

**Disclaimer, you know.**

After the panic with the jester Glinda sent everyone home. Dorothy had the scepter and the slippers returned to her. The first thaw and Mr. Diggs's funeral had come and gone. Aislynn had refused to talk to anyone for days. Ellie and Dorothy had tried for days to get her to leave her bedroom. Not even Glinda could convince her. The only time they saw her before break had ended was at meal times. The only time she ever talked now was at school to answer questions in class. It was now the end of another school day, Dorothy had told Ellie to take Aislynn home and she would catch up. As soon as they were out of sight Dorothy walked back into the school and to the gym where Alex was serving one of his many detentions that he had to make up. He was washing the graffiti that his old group left on the gym walls off. When she walked into the gym, Mr. Clarke the gym teacher was surprised to see her here so late.

"Good afternoon Dorothy, what are you still doing here, you didn't get a detention as well did you?" Mr. Clarke asked looking over to Alex.

"No, I figured Alex could use some company." Dorothy said.

"That's nice of you, but you really shouldn't be in the school after hours unless you are serving a detention or are staying with one of the teachers for extra help with your homework." Mr. Clarke replied.

"I know the policy Mr. Clarke, again, I thought Alex might like some company." Dorothy said walking over to Alex.

"Well, I'll let you stay, but you two will need to keep talking to a minimum, he is here serving detentions that he never served." Mr. Clarke said.

"Mr. Clarke, how's my nephew's detention going? Oh hello Dorothy." Mr. Alistair said walking in followed by Mr. Teak.

"Good afternoon Mr. Alistair, good afternoon Mr. Teak." Dorothy said.

"It's nice to see him actually doing work for a change." Mr. Teak said.

"What are you still doing here?" Mr. Alistair asked Dorothy curiously.

"I'm keeping alex company." Dorothy replied.

"That's nice of you." Mr. Alistair said.

"He shouldn't have company, this kind of work deserves solitude and loneliness." Mr. Teak said chuckling.

"Mr. teak would you mind leaving?" Mr. Alistair said looking at his brother in law.

"Yes sir." He said saluting and walking out of the gym.

Mr. Alistair sighed and walked over to Dorothy and Alex.

"Why do I feel that your father still puts no faith in you whatsoever?" Mr. Alistair asked curiously

"Because he despises me, because I've spent years being a bad egg, he refuses to believe I've changed." Alex said scrubbing the walls harder.

"I see, well at least my sister has faith in you." Mr. Alistair said.

"As does Annabella." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Mr. Clarke you're free to leave if you wish, I'll take over from here." Mr. Alistair said.

"See you tomorrow then." He said jogging over to the back door of the gym and walking out.

"Alex, to be honest I'm glad that your serving all your detentions but this extra work is causing you to miss your dance lessons according to your mother." Mr. Alistair said.

"Yes uncle, I figured I may as well prove that I have changed by working." Alex said.

"Well you should take a break at some point." Mr. Alistair said.

"Dorothy?" came the voice of Mr. Foreman as he walked in.

"Oh hello Mr. Foreman, what brings you here?" Dorothy asked as he walked in

"Dorothy, your aunt is in the hospital, she's fine, she just passed out while working, your uncle called me to bring you and your friends to the hospital, Ellie and ace are already in my truck." He said.

"Alex, you should go to." Mr. Alistair said.

"But uncle, my detention." Alex said.

"It's done, just go." He said.

Alex didn't argue, he just got up and placed the rag on the rim of the bucket of water. He then walked over to Dorothy and took her hand. They then quickly walked out of the school and to Mr. Foreman's truck. Soon they were off towards the hospital.

"I'm sure your aunt is completely fine." Ellie said.

"I know, I'm sure she is, but she's never just passed out before, that's normally my job." Dorothy said making them all chuckle.

"Dorothy, don't worry about it." Alex said squeezing her hand.

"I'll try." Dorothy said rummaging through her satchel and pulling out the slippers.

"I'm glad you don't wear those during the school day." Aislynn said.

"Yea, imagine if I accidently clicked my heels together while I was doing school work." Dorothy said

"What would happen if you did that without giving a command to them?" Aislynn asked.

"I asked Glinda that once, she said something about being sent to some random location in oz." Ellie said.

"Well that makes me feel so much better." Dorothy said taking off her flats and putting on the slippers.

They went along the rest of the short ride in silence. When they arrived at the hospital they found henry waiting for them, smiling with Toto on his lap. Dorothy ran over to her uncle and hugged him. He then took Toto off his lap and led them to the room her aunt was in. when they got there they found Doctor Maxwell and Glinda in there. Ellie was surprised to see her sister here of all people and she wanted to know why.

"Ah now we can give them the good news." Doctor Maxwell said.

"What good news?" Dorothy asked walking over to her aunt's side.

"Dorothy, you're going to have a little cousin, or cousins." Em said.

It took Dorothy a minute to register this. Her mind went for a quick swim and left her behind on shore. She dropped the scepter in surprise and it sparked as it hit the ground. It was several minutes before Dorothy managed to say anything.

"Auntie Em that's wonderful." Dorothy said wrapping her arms around her aunt's neck.

"How long have you known?" Ellie asked.

"I've been showing symptoms for over a month now, I just wasn't sure." Em said.

"You've done a good job at hiding it Em, but the weight gain will be hard to hide." Henry said.

"You've known?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, I have, but we weren't sure." Henry replied.

"Well Dorothy, looks like you'll finally have more family members." Alex said.

"Yea, I'm so…" Dorothy said trailing off, a tear then came to her eyes.

"Dorothy, what's wrong?" Aislynn asked with concern.

"Dorothy?" Glinda said walking over to Dorothy and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Glinda, you know exactly what I'm thinking." Dorothy said.

"Well you could be thinking a large variety of things." Ellie said wrapping her arms around Dorothy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gale you don't mind if I take Dorothy to Oz with me?" Glinda asked.

"Not at all." They replied

"Can I come along?" Alex asked curiously.

"Yes alex." Glinda said bending over and picking up the scepter

Alex then walked over and placed his hand on Dorothy's shoulder. Dorothy was on the verge of completely breaking down and crying. She then felt herself lurch forward, when the usual sensations had stopped she found herself sitting on the throne in the chambers. Alex was leaning against one of the arms of the throne and catching his breath. Glinda was standing in front of her with the scepter floating next to her. She walked up to Dorothy and placed her hand under Dorothy's chin.

"What's troubling you my dear?" Glinda asked.

Dorothy looked up at Glinda worriedly. Glinda didn't like this look on Dorothy's face. Tears began to trickle down the girls face. Glinda wrapped her arms around Dorothy tightly.

"Glinda, I'm putting my family in danger, the jester could use my cousin to get to me, he, he, oh Glinda what am I going to do?" Dorothy said bursting into tears.

"Dorothy, I promise you once your aunt gives birth I'll do what can to keep your family protected." Glinda said running a hand through Dorothy's hair.

"Glinda, might I make a suggestion?" Alex asked.

"Sure." Glinda said facing him.

"Why don't you keep Mrs. Gale here?" Alex suggested.

"You mean like keep her here in the emerald city under surveillance and under our protection?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Yes." Alex said

"We'd have to get her to agree to that." Glinda said releasing Dorothy from the embrace.

"It's for her protection, for the child's protection." Alex said

Glinda sighed and looked at Dorothy. She then waved her wand and vanished leaving Dorothy and Alex alone. Alex looked around and wondered where everyone was. He then got up and walked around the throne so he could face Dorothy. She still had tears rolling down her face. He took out a handkerchief that his mother gave him and dabbed her eyes.

"Alex, it didn't take me too long to comprehend what I did, you all realize that even knowing me puts you in danger don't you?" Dorothy asked.

"Of course we do, Dorothy we know the risks, and we know it's dangerous, but that will never stop us from sticking by your side." Alex said taking Dorothy's hand in his.

Dorothy looked at Alex and got up from the throne and hugged him. She found that she couldn't stop crying at this point. She hugged Alex tightly and closed her eyes. She continued to sob into Alex's shoulder for a few minutes before Glinda reappeared.

"Alex would you mind leaving Dorothy and I alone for a bit?" Glinda said.

"Yea, I'll go see if I can't find the others." Alex said as Dorothy released him.

"Oh right, they aren't here, they are at Locasta's castle, they'll be back tomorrow morning." Glinda said.

"Then I guess I'll wait outside then." Alex said walking out.

"Why are they at Locasta's?" Dorothy asked sniffling.

"Dorothy you know why." Glinda said sighing.

Dorothy looked at Glinda with a look of surprise. Glinda couldn't have sent them as a war council. Glinda looked at her with a look of shock in what she just told the child.

"I thought there were going to be no more secret meetings!" Dorothy said backing away from Glinda.

"Dorothy! It's not like that." Glinda said

"Then what!?" Dorothy yelled holding out her hand for the scepter

"Dorothy, I, Dorothy please calm down." Glinda said getting worried as she approached Dorothy.

"How can I calm down when you guys betray my trust!?" Dorothy yelled continuing to back away holding the scepter in a defensive position.

"Dorothy, please calm down, you know what's going to happen if you blow your stack." Glinda said as Em, henry, Ellie and Aislynn appeared in the room.

"Oh dear, Mrs. Gale, get out of here now, just in case." Ellie said

Em nodded and quickly ran out of the chambers, henry followed to keep his wife safe.

"Dorothy, please calm down." Aislynn said keeping her distance from Dorothy.

"How can I calm down if you guys still betray my trust!?" Dorothy asked.

"So she found out then sis?" Ellie said pulling her sister back from Dorothy.

"Sadly I let it slip." Glinda said.

"Oh Glinda." Ellie said sounding disappointed.

"You knew!?" Dorothy asked continuing to back away.

"Dorothy." Ellie said taking a step towards Dorothy.

"Stay away from me!" Dorothy said pointing the scepter at Ellie.

Ellie gasped and backed away. Dorothy soon found herself with her back firmly against the wall. She looked at her friends. She began to feel anger welling up inside of her, she couldn't control it. And next thing she knew a wave of energy was released from her body and she blacked out.


	51. Time, more problems and questions

**Do I still need to put the disclaimer here?**

After Dorothy had passed out on the floors of the chambers Glinda moved her to her bedroom in the emerald city. She had Ellie and Aislynn drag Alex to the sick bay because he had ran back into the chambers to try and calm Dorothy down just as she released the energy. As they loaded him onto one of the beds of the sickbay Ellie looked at Aislynn and sighed.

"Nothing gets by her now does it?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Not at all, but we have time to sort this out don't we?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Sadly not really, the time here and the time in your world don't have much time left of running in parallel, soon time will once more run differently in Oz than it does in your world." Ellie said.

"Isn't there anything you can do about that" Aislynn asked curiously.

"No, neither I nor my sister have a solution, and I really don't think there is one." Ellie said.

"Oh come now, there's always a solution." Came the voice of the Nome king from behind them.

"Your majesty!" Ellie said giving a bow.

"Oh get up, please." He said.

Ellie nodded and stood up.

"What brings you here your majesty?" Ellie asked curiously.

"I think I have a solution to your time problem, but I think it'd be best to wait for Glinda before I reveal it." He replied walking over to Alex and placing a hand over him.

He muttered a few things and Alex began to glow. An odd golden haze began to leave him and go into the Nome King's hand. Then all of a sudden the glow subsided and Alex's eyes snapped open.

"Ugh, what happened?" Alex asked sitting up and placing a hand on his head.

"You took full force of the energy Dorothy released, Glinda was able to put up a shield for me and ace, but you ran in unexpectedly, the Nome king has just revived you it seems." Ellie said.

Alex looked up at the Nome king. Alex smiled and carefully got out of the bed. He felt as if someone had just punched him in gut really hard. He bowed towards the Nome king then leaned against the bedpost just as Glinda walked in.

"Oh Roquat, what brings you here?" Glinda said.

"Well two things, one I've just sped up your friends recovery, and two, I think I have a solution to your time problem." He said lighting his pipe.

"Roquat, you know we can't." Glinda said walking up to him.

"And why not?" He asked chuckling.

"Can't what?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Go to the hall of time, I'm sure father time is really busy anyways." Glinda said.

"Busy doing what? I have tea and cakes with him and Mother Nature every other weekend." Roquat replied.

"I always thought Father Time was a myth." Ellie replied.

"No, he controls time to every world, including ours and Dorothy's." Glinda said sighing.

"So if he wanted to he could keep time here running in parallel with our world?" Aislynn said.

"Of course he could, the question is, will he." Roquat said.

Before anyone could make any remark, it seemed as if every clock in Oz decided to stop. The large grandfather clock in the corner of the room stopped ticking and the pendulum stopped swinging. The Nome king looked over to the clock and chuckled.

"What's so funny, can't you tell he's been listening?" Glinda said looking towards the clock.

"I know." He said as they immediately found themselves in a large room filled with clocks.

In the middle of the room was a man. Dressed in a cloak white as snow. His face looked old but at the same time it looked young. He wore a warm smile on his face. His eyes were as green as the emeralds in the emerald city.

"Father Time!" Glinda said bowing really low.

"Arise." The man said in a loud booming voice.

"Yes sir." Glinda said getting up.

"Good everything father time." Roquat said.

"Everything?" Alex and Ellie asked in unison.

"I think I get it." Aislynn said looking at them.

"Then explain child." Father time said chuckling.

"You control all time, there for you live in every part of the day, morning, afternoon, evening and night, there is no distinction as to what time of day it is for you." Aislynn replied.

"Nicely spoken." He replied.

"Thank you." Aislynn said.

"Now down to business." Father Time said walking towards them.

"Yes, I would guess so." Roquat replied.

"I know what you want me to do, the question is why should I do it?" He asked them chuckling.

"Father Time, please if I may?" Alex said stepping forward.

"Speak Alex." Father time replied.

"Time in Oz and our world are soon going to be running in different Parallels, with this happening fighting the jester will be more of a chore because the damage he does to Oz could become greater and greater as a day for us becomes years for them. As you know our worlds became linked together in this mess through Dorothy's actions, all we ask of you is to allow the times to run in parallel until the jester is defeated." Alex said giving a low bow and backing away.

"I know of your troubles with the jester, I to have problems with him." He said.

"So you'll grant the request?" Roquat asked.

"Yes, but first I would like to meet Dorothy gale." He replied going into a pocket on his cloak and pulling out a small hourglass on a chain of pure gold.

"We can arrange that, just not at this moment." Glinda replied.

"I can wait, as you know I have all the time in the world." Father time said chuckling.

"That is true sir." Glinda said giving a weak chuckle.

"Glinda upland, do you fear my presence?" father time asked curiously.

"Sort of sir." Glinda said as a chair appeared behind her.

"And why is that?" He asked motioning for Glinda to sit down.

"Last time we saw you, you aged the witch of the west to the point where she looked like an old crone, I've been afraid that I one day may suffer the same punishment." Glinda said sitting in the chair.

"Glinda, I did that to her as punishment, where as you did nothing wrong, she stole that cursed hourglass, which she shattered upon Dorothy escaping her trap. The pieces were eventually returned to me, you have no need to fear my powers unless you plan on touching that hourglass without my permission." Father time said walking up to her.

This put Glinda's mind at ease. Years ago Roquat had brought her, and the women who were to become the wicked witches of the east and west, to see father time. The cursed hour glass could be used to speed up someone's life cycle and kill them as the sands ran out. The witch of the west feeling this could be used to her own advantage stole it. Glinda had no idea that had happened all she saw was Father Time punishing the witch of the west. It had scared her to fear him all those years ago, and it frightened her until her mind was finally at ease with it.

"Thank you sir." She said.

"If you guys do not mind, I'll make a quick run to the emerald city, check on Ms. Gale." The Nome king replied.

"How about we all go." Father time said as they all reappeared in the chambers of the emerald city.

Glinda nodded and got up from the chair, as she did this it vanished. She then led them all to Dorothy's bedroom where her aunt and uncle were sitting at her bedside. They left the room as soon as they saw Glinda with Dorothy's friends feeling that they wanted to be alone.

"Mrs. Gale is a really lucky woman." Father time said as he approached Dorothy's bed.

"Yes she is." Glinda said.

"So, there are her weapons of choice, the slippers of the witch of the east and the broom stick of the witch of the west, which has now been converted into, a scepter." He said looking at them.

"Yes." Glinda said.

Before anyone could say anything else Dorothy let out a groan and shifted in the bed. Her eyes slowly opened. She slowly sat up and blinked a few times. Her gaze first fell upon Glinda who walked around the bed and hugged her.

"Dorothy, how are you feeling?" Glinda asked.

"Better, thanks." Dorothy said weakly.

"Dorothy, remind me to stay away from you next time you get angry." Alex said.

"Why?" Dorothy asked.

"He ran in to try and calm you down just before you released that burst of energy, he took full force of the blast." Ellie said as Glinda released Dorothy from the embrace.

"Oh my, Alex are you alright!?" Dorothy asked.

"I'm fine, it's you we're all worried about." Alex replied.

Dorothy nodded and her gaze fell upon Father Time, to her, he was a complete stranger. They had never met before, but at the same time he looked vaguely familiar.

"Ms. Dorothy gale, it is a pleasure to meet you at last." Father time said.

"Thank you sir." Dorothy replied.

"I am father time, I control the passage of time in all the worlds, your friends here have asked me to keep time here running in parallel with your world until the jester is defeated, I will grant the request, but I wanted to meet you first." He said walking over to the other side of the bed and offering a hand to Dorothy.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir." Dorothy said shaking his hand.

"Now, I must return to my domain, time shall remain the same between the worlds until the jester is defeated, and Roquat, see you Saturday." He said vanishing.

"So you're joining him for tea this weekend?" Glinda asked looking to Roquat.

"Correct." He replied.

Well, have fun." Glinda said.

"Oh I always do." The Nome king replied before vanishing as well.

"Dorothy, your aunt has agreed to stay in the emerald city under my protection until she gives birth, Doctor Maxwell has been informed of this, as has Mr. Alistair." Glinda said as Em and Henry returned to room.

"Dorothy, I know you're worried about our safety and that's very nice of you but you needn't worry." Em said walking up to her niece.

"Auntie Em, I just don't want you guys to get hurt, I don't want to lose any of you, you guys mean more to me than I could ever mean to any of you." Dorothy said climbing out of the bed and walking over to her things.

"Dorothy, we know you care about all of us a lot but if you keep up like this you're going to do more damage to yourself." Alex said walking over to her.

"Alex, you wouldn't understand." Dorothy said.

"By the way, are you two going to the school dance together?" Ellie asked curiously.

Everyone looked at Ellie in surprise for a moment. She looked around the room for a minute just to be sure that all eyes were on her.

"What it's an honest question?" Ellie said shrinking back.

"I don't think I'm going to the school dance, I never do." Dorothy said.

"Why don't we talk about this later, I've got to send you guys back to the hospital, we left Toto there remember?" Glinda said chuckling.

"Why in heavens name did you do that?" Dorothy asked curiously and she put on the slippers.

"Doctor Maxwell asked if we could leave Toto, I'm under the impression he wants you to allow the hospital use of him as a therapy dog?" Glinda said.

"Well yes, but I haven't signed any formal contracts yet." Dorothy said plucking the scepter out of the air.

"He finally has one made up, Mr. Greene met us in the hospital room only to find that you had left." Henry said.

"Well let's go then." Dorothy said.

Without a word Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. The usual sensations ensued and she came to a stop right in the middle of the hospital lobby where Mr. Greene, Mr. Foreman, and Doctor Maxwell were waiting for her as was Toto. The rest of her friends appeared and her uncle appeared around her shortly after.

"Ah Dorothy there you are, I've taken the liberty of reading the contract they made up for you." Mr. Foreman said getting up and walking over to her.

"And?" Dorothy asked.

"I think it would be in your best interest to accept the offer." Mr. Foreman said.

"Then I'll sign, but I want my uncle to read the contract first." Dorothy said.

Mr. Foreman nodded and motioned to Mr. Greene who got up and walked over handing the contract to henry. He took it and sat down in the chair and read through it. The contract was only three pages long but henry reread through it three or four times. After an hour of wasting time doing this he handed the contract to his niece.

"Everything seems to check out, but I would like a copy of this when we're through." Henry said.

"Sure thing." Mr. Greene said taking out a pen and handing it to Dorothy.

Dorothy took the pen and signed where she had to. She then handed the contract and the pen to Mr. Greene. Dorothy walked over to Toto and picked him up he licked her on the face making her giggle a bit.

"Well Toto, this is our first job." Dorothy said.

"Alex, if you'd like I'll drive you home." Mr. Foreman said.

"Thanks." Alex said as he and Mr. Foreman walked out.

"He's really changed hasn't he?" Dr. Maxwell asked.

"Yes, indeed he has." Dorothy said smiling.

Before anyone could say anything the reception phone rang. Dr. Maxwell picked it up.

"Hello, this is Doctor Maxwell speaking, yes, no Mr. Foreman is bringing him home, sure you can talk to her, Dorothy it's Mrs. Teak, she wants to talk to you." He said.

Dorothy nodded and walked over setting Toto on the ground and the scepter to the side, she took the phone from him and brought it to her ear.

"Dorothy gale speaking." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, thank goodness, we need you at the house immediately, but be on your guard, he's here." Mrs. Teak said as quickly as she could.

"Mrs. Teak, stay calm, keep Annabella close to you, I'll have my uncle bring me there right away." Dorothy said as the phone hung up.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked curiously.

"The jester is at the Teak's residence, Uncle Henry we need to get there fast." Dorothy said.

"No time to lose then." Henry said as they ran out of the hospital and to Mr. Gale's truck.

"Ellie, I need you and Aislynn to stay in the truck when we get there, it's too risky, and he could attack all of us if I bring you." Dorothy said picking up Toto and getting into the truck.

"Yes Dorothy." Ellie said reluctantly.

Soon they were speeding towards the teak residence. Mr. Foreman's truck was stopped outside by a block created by Officer Grey. Dorothy quickly got out of the truck and saw Alex trying to get past them. She ran over to him and stopped him.

"Alex, please, I'll deal with it, it's the jester." Dorothy said as she walked up to officer grey.

He said nothing, he just let her pass. Dorothy ran around the house and too the back yard. Front door was too obvious he would probably be waiting at the top of the steps inside. Surprisingly however this was not the case. He had somehow anticipated her actions and was waiting at the sliding glass of the back door. Dorothy could see Mr. and Mrs. Teak with their backs to the wall. Annabella crying in her mother's arms. He opened the door and allowed Dorothy passage.

"Leave them alone, what have they ever done to you?" Dorothy asked running over to Mrs. Teak and taking Annabella from her.

"Oh nothing really, I just find this fun." He said taking out the wand.

"Leave our house then, we have done nothing to harm you or prevent you from doing anything!" Mrs. Teak shouted causing Dorothy, and Mr. Teak to jump.

"Don't lose your temper with me!" He said pointing his wand at her.

"Or what you're going to cast a spell on me?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Yes." The jester replied

"Then do it!" Mrs. Teak said stepping forward.

"What?" the jester asked sounding confused.

"What are you doing!?" Mr. Teak asked going pale as a ghost.

"Shut up dear, I said do it, threats are nothing if you don't deliver on them." Mrs. Teak said stepping forward.

The jester stood there, speechless, this was not a situation he was prepared to deal with. Dorothy looked around the kitchen for something to use to her advantage, but with Annabella in her arms as well as the scepter in her hands she was pretty much powerless to do anything. But then she saw Alex slowly approaching the kitchen door. She looked at him and mouthed out the words for him to stand still. He saw this and stopped just as he reached the open door.

"Well?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"You're trying my patience aren't you?" The jester asked.

"Either you attack, or we won't believe any threats you make from here on out." Mrs. Teak said.

Dorothy looked out the door at Alex. He looked worried but also as if he was about to make a move. Dorothy then looked back at Mrs. Teak who seemed to be inching closer to the jester.

"Don't try my patience lady." He said tightening his grip on the wand.

"You see, he can't do it, he's nothing but a coward who doesn't build up on his own threats." She said looking back at her husband.

"That's it!" he said waving the wand a few times over his head building up a ball of light.

Mrs. Teak looked at the jester. Then at Dorothy. She closed her eyes waiting for the spell to be sent at her. Just as the jester was bringing the wand down to send the spell at her Alex ran in front of the jester blocking the path of the spell.

"NO!" he shouted as the spell struck him full force.

Alex was sent sprawling to the ground. The jester got a look of panic on his face and vanished. Mrs. Teak ran up to her son and knelt down next to him. The next thing they heard was the sound of the front door opening and Glinda ran into the kitchen. She saw Alex on the floor and waved her wand over him. She sighed in relief and looked at them.

"He'll be fine, the spell was harmless." She said.

"You shouldn't have provoked him." Dorothy said looking at Mrs. Teak.

"I, I know, and now, he threw himself in front of me so I wouldn't be harmed." She said tearing up.

"Alex okay?" Annabella asked as she stopped crying

"Yes Annabella." Dorothy said setting Annabella down on the floor.

"Mr. Teak are you alright?" Glinda asked looking at him

Everyone turned to face him. His mouth was hanging open. He was surprised at what his son had just done. He couldn't believe what his own eyes had just witnessed. Annabella walked over to her father and hugged his legs which got his attention. He blinked and picked Annabella up. He then walked over to his son and knelt down next to him. Dorothy did the same. Alex groaned and his eyes opened, the first thing he noticed that his father was actually knelt down next to him.

"That was a very brave thing you did there Alex." Dorothy said.

"It was also very foolish, what if he had been killed?" Mr. Teak asked quickly getting up.

"The jester wouldn't have killed you guys, he's doing this to frighten you." Glinda said picking Alex up off the floor.

"Where are you taking him?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Back to the hospital, he suffered a nice blow to the head when he fell." Glinda said.

"I'll be fine." Alex said weakly.

"I want to be sure." Glinda said as she vanished.

"You guys go make sure, tell my uncle I'll stay here with Annabella till you guys get back." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy babysit?" Annabella asked as Toto ran in through the back door.

"Yes Annabella." Dorothy replied.

"Yay!" Annabella said as her father set her down.

"Yes, we'll go meet Glinda at the hospital, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge." Mrs. Teak said getting up and leading her husband out of the house.

The next thing Dorothy and Annabella heard was the sound of the front door opening and shutting again. Toto barked a few times and Annabella walked over to him and tried to pick him up. She didn't succeed. Dorothy chuckled and walked over to the back door and slid it shut. She then walked over to Annabella and picked her up. She then brought her into the living room. As she entered she was surprised to find Father Time sitting on the couch. She said nothing she just walked over to the play pen and set Annabella down in it. She then turned to him and sat down.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?" He asked chuckling.

"At this point I've given up asking." Dorothy said setting down the scepter.

"You have really loyal friends." He said.

"Yes I do." She replied.

"Your cause is a loyal one, but remember things may not always be as they seem." He said vanishing.

"Who was that?" Annabella asked curiously.

"That was father time, I'll explain later." Dorothy said.

"Oh." Annabella said picking up her stuffed bear and hugged it.

"Right, so, what do you want to do Annabella?" Dorothy asked

"Play with Freddy." She said sitting down in her play pen.

"Sounds like fun." Dorothy said sarcastically

"Why are you being sarcastic?" Annabella asked.

Dorothy looked at Annabella and sighed. She wished she hadn't taught her the meaning of that word.

"I don't know Annabella" Dorothy said getting up and walking over to the play pen.

"Is alex going to be okay?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Glinda says he will be so I believe he will be." Dorothy said stroking Annabella's hair.

"Okay." Annabella said going back to playing with her stuffed bear.

Dorothy smiled and was about to say something when she heard the phone ring. She picked Annabella up and walked back to the kitchen and picked it up.

"Teak residence, Dorothy gale speaking." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, Alex is fine, but Mr. and Mrs. Teak will be staying overnight at the hospital with him, he'll be released in the morning, but you are going to have to stay overnight at the Teak's with Annabella." Came the voice of her uncle from the phone.

"Okay uncle henry, what about school though?" Dorothy asked.

"Tomorrow's Friday right?" He asked.

"yes." Dorothy said.

"Then you may stay home tomorrow." Henry said.

"Take care of Ellie and ace while I'm not there." Dorothy said.

"Right, which reminds me is Toto with you?" henry asked.

"Yes uncle henry." Dorothy said.

"Okay good." He said.

"Uncle Henry, is Glinda there with you?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes, would you like to talk to her?" He asked.

"Yes." Dorothy said.

"Give me a second." He said.

Dorothy waited for a few seconds before she heard the phone get passed on to Glinda.

"Dorothy?" Glinda said into the phone.

"Glinda, father time was here." Dorothy said.

"I know, he's been here as well." Glinda replied.

"Did he say why?" Dorothy asked.

"He said that he was checking up, seeing if your reason to fight was one worth his time, he believes it is." Glinda said.

"That's good" Dorothy replied.

"It means he'll keep the times running in parallel with each other." Glinda said.

"That's good as well." Dorothy said.

"Well, have a good night, I'll see you in the morning." Glinda said before handing the phone back to Dorothy's uncle.

"Dorothy, we'll see you in the morning, don't leave the house, stay on your guard, you know the number of the sheriff's office if anything goes wrong, have a good night." He said before hanging up.

Dorothy sighed and placed the phone back on the receiver she then took Annabella back to the living and set her back into the play pen.

"Alex was making you something." Annabella said.

"How do you know that?" Dorothy asked looking at her.

"I watched." Annabella said.

"Oh, what was it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He called it a pea shooter." Annabella replied.

"Do you know what a pea shooter is Annabella?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"You take a pea, put it in your mouth, put the pea shooter in your mouth and blow real hard into the tube." She replied trying to remember what her brother told her.

Dorothy chuckled and sat down in the arm chair next to the play pen. She set the scepter down and slid off the slippers. She then brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around then.

"Can we look at family album?" Annabella asked.

"Sure, where is it?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"The big book on the shelf over there." Annabella said pointing to the shelf next to the mantle place.

Dorothy got up and walked over to the shelf. She pulled out the album and tucked it under her arm. She then picked up Annabella and walked back over to the arm chair she sat down and set Annabella on her lap. She then took out the album from under her arm. Opening it she looked at the first page. There were pictures of Mrs. Teak when she was younger at a fishing trip with her brother and sister. They spent almost an hour looking at the pictures and Annabella pointing out her favorites. When they were getting to the middle of the album Annabella grew tired and began to doze off on Dorothy's lap.

"That's my most favorite of all." Annabella said pointing to a large picture that took up an entire page.

Dorothy looked over to the page and gasped. It was a picture of her parents on their wedding day. The Alistair's, the Teaks, and the Maitlands were all present at the wedding as well as many people Dorothy had never seen her parents wedding photo, it was one of the many things she tried to avoid looking at. She sniffed a bit and began tear up. Annabella sighed and nuzzled against Dorothy.

"Is something wrong?" Toto asked curiously.

"It's a picture of my parents." Dorothy said.

"What's it doing in the Teak family album?" Toto asked.

"It's their wedding photo." Dorothy said.

"Oh, can I see?" Toto asked.

Dorothy nodded and got up. Taking Annabella in her arms she used one hand to set the album down on the coffee table. She then carried Annabella up to her crib. Setting Annabella in and tucking her in her kissed Annabella on the cheek and headed back downstairs. As she got to the bottom the front door opened Mrs. Teak came in followed by uncle henry.

"Sorry about barging in, but she insisted she come and check on Annabella." Henry said handing Dorothy her satchel.

"I don't mind, it's their house, I just put Annabella in her crib, we were just looking at your family album Mrs. teak." Dorothy said heading back into the living room.

Mrs. Teak smiled and walked over to the album that Toto was looking at. She chuckled and picked it up.

"I remember that day." She said.

"What picture is it?" Henry asked walking over and looking at the album.

When he laid eyes on the picture he went white as a sheet. He then looked at his niece.

"That picture didn't upset you did it?" Henry asked worriedly.

"That memory is not mine, it belongs to you guys, I do not feel pain from it, but seeing my parents so young, so happy, it does make me feel a little sad." Dorothy said.

"Your mother, before she passed on, wrote me a letter, I have to find it at some point." Mrs. Teak said closing the album.

"you know, sometimes when I'm out I drive by my brother's house and expect him to be sitting on the doorstep, whittling away at a random block of wood, I'm glad the Johnson's are taking care of the house." Henry said.

"I ran into Barbara Johnson the other morning and you know what she told me?" Mrs. Teak said.

"What?" Dorothy and henry asked in unison.

"She asked if you guys were ever going to bring Dorothy to see her old house, they have a daughter that's probably about your age." Mrs. Teak said looking at Dorothy.

"I think I'd rather stay away from the old place." Dorothy said sitting down on the couch and taking Toto in her arms.

"Well I think you should still meet their daughter at some point." Mrs. Teak said.

"Are you going to check on Annabella?" Dorothy asked.

"Right, that's why I had your uncle drive me here, if you need any, there are blankets in the hall closet, but I have to go back to the hospital after checking on Annabella." Mrs. Teak said walking out of the living room and upstairs.

"You said my father used to whittle?" Dorothy asked looking at her uncle.

"Yes." Henry replied.

"What he any good?" Dorothy asked.

"Where do you think Mr. Teak got his start?" Henry asked chuckling.

"You mean, Mr. Teak learned about his trade from my father?" Dorothy asked.

"Your father and my husband started out working together in my father's wood shop." Mrs. Teak said walking back in.

"How come my father never stayed in the business?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"My brother never liked big business." Henry said.

"oh." Was the only thing Dorothy could manage to say.

"Well, we should be getting back to the hospital, call directly to doctor Maxwell's office if Annabella gives you any problems." Mrs. Teak said.

"Don't worry Mrs. Teak, Toto and I have everything under control." Dorothy said.

Mrs. Teak only smiled then quickly ran out of the house. Henry followed after and soon Dorothy heard the sound of the front door shutting. Soon after Dorothy heard the sound of her aunt's voice in the room. She looked around and saw her face in the large mirror.

"So, how are things at the Teak's?" Em asked as soon as she was sure Dorothy was aware of what she was seeing.

"After the scare with the jester and alex ending up in the hospital? Quite well." Dorothy said walking over to the mirror.

"Yes, Ellie informed me on the recent development." Em said.

"So Glinda sent them there then?" Dorothy asked.

"Yea, they just went to bed, Ellie gave me a few of these strange bottles that she uses on the mirror." Em said holding one up.

"Ah, auntie Em, can I asked you something?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Any thing you'd like dear, it's a bit boring here in the city to be honest." Em said.

"My parents, what were they like when they were younger?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"When we were all much younger, well where do I begin, they were always a handsome couple, willing to help people at the drop of a hat." Em said.

"Anything else?" Dorothy asked.

"The year after they got married your father spent time saving up his money so that way they could easily support you." Em said.

"So, my parents were some of the kindest people you could ever meet?" Dorothy asked sitting down.

"The kindest, your parents, henry and I used to have so much fun in the years before your father finally tied the knot with your mom." Em said.

"Like what?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Well we would hang out with the Alistair's and Mr. Teak at the local park." Em said.

"And do what?" Dorothy asked.

"Mostly shoot at a tin can with pea shooters." Em said.

"According Annabella, alex was making me one of those." Dorothy said.

"That's cute." Em said.

"But what would be the point? The scepter is some of the best defense and offense I have." Dorothy said.

"Probably so that you could have something long range." Em said.

"How easy is it to aim a pea shooter?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"If you can see it you can aim at it." Em replied.

"Okay then." Dorothy replied.

Em was about to say something when the mirror began to ripple. Em sighed and looked at her niece.

"Dorothy, I'll talk to you again tomorrow, have a good night." Em said as her image faded from the mirror.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to the couch. She yawned and stretched. She then say down on the couch and laid down on her side. Reaching over and shutting off the lamp she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	52. New friends, New problems

**Disclaimer, the usual I really own nothing besides the ideas**

"Dorothy?" Mrs. Teak asked causing Dorothy to wake up.

Dorothy opened her eyes and sat up. Mrs. Teak was standing in front of her with Annabella in her arms. Dorothy stretched and rubbed her eyes. Toto jumped up onto the couch and licked Dorothy on the face causing her to giggle.

"Your uncle is here to drive you home, Alex is going through one more checkup and then Mr. Teak will drive him home." Mrs. Teak said.

"Thank you Mrs. Teak, Annabella was no trouble by the way." Dorothy said getting up and walking over to her satchel.

She picked up her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. She then slid on the slippers and took hold of the scepter. She said good bye to Mrs. Teak and Annabella and she and Toto left the house. Walking out to her uncles truck and she and Toto got in. soon they were off and headed back towards the farmhouse.

"Aislynn and Ellie are at school, Glinda wants to talk to you though." Henry said.

"Is she at the farmhouse?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes." Henry replied.

"Okay, did she say what she wanted to talk about?" Dorothy asked.

"No." Henry replied.

Dorothy rummaged through her satchel and pulled out her watch. Looking at the time she found that it was half past seven and she would definitely had been late from school if she were going. She put the watch back in the satchel and pulled out her silver flats. Sliding off the slippers she placed them in the satchel and then slid on the flats. Soon they arrived back at the farmhouse where Glinda was waiting on the porch. Dorothy jumped out of the truck and ran over to Glinda. She immediately found herself pulled in a tight embrace.

"I always wondered where Ellie got her hugging skills from." Dorothy said.

"Sorry, your aunt was telling me that you were talking about your parents yesterday." Glinda said.

"Yes Glinda, and to be honest I think I'm going to try to avoid that subject more." Dorothy said.

"I know it hurts you to talk about them." Glinda said.

"It hurts to even think about them." Dorothy replied.

"Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk about." Glinda said.

"Then what?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"We are taking the jester's attack yesterday as a declaration of war." Glinda said

"Glinda no, tell them all no, I will not let this go to war if I can avoid it." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I think it's time for you to face facts, war is going to be unavoidable." Glinda started to say before Dorothy cut her off.

"Glinda, I know, but that doesn't mean I can't try to prevent it as long as possible." Dorothy said.

"I'm just making sure." Glinda said.

"Also, Glinda, can I show you something?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Sure, what is it?" Glinda asked.

"Come on, we'll have to have uncle henry drive us." Dorothy said heading back to the truck.

Glinda didn't bother to question this, she knew she would probably lose the argument. As they got into the truck Toto greeted Glinda with a happy bark and henry just looked at his niece curiously.

"Uncle Henry, can we go there?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, are you sure?" Uncle Henry asked curiously.

"Positive." Dorothy replied.

"Well then, Glinda, I'm assuming Dorothy hasn't told you where she's asked me to go?" Henry asked turning to her.

"Not at all." Glinda said taking Toto in her lap.

"Well for her sake I'm not going to say it either." Henry said.

"Then I can guess." Glinda said.

Henry nodded and drove off. The ride went on in silence until they arrived at the graveyard. It still looked dark and gloomy as it always did. Dorothy slowly got out of the truck and removed her satchel and placed it on the seat. She motioned for Glinda to get out of the car. Glinda nodded and got out of the truck, Toto did as well. Dorothy grabbed the scepter then walked over to the gate of the yard. She pushed it open with all her might and walked in. Glinda followed closely behind with Toto at her heels. They walked along. When they got to the grave of Dorothy's parents they found a fresh display of flowers placed there, a new fresh display.

"He must still be coming back here." Dorothy said to herself kneeling down at the foot of the grave.

"So, this is your parent's grave?" Glinda asked.

"Yes, it hurts to come here, but sometimes I find it best to come here." Dorothy said.

"That's a good way of looking at it." Glinda said kneeling next to Dorothy.

"Glinda, would you mind going back to the car? I think I need to be alone for a few minutes." Dorothy said starting to tear up.

"Take your time dear, I'll tell your uncle that you needed a few minutes." Glinda.

"Toto, I think you should go as well." Dorothy said.

"Yes mam." Toto said following Glinda.

When Dorothy was sure she was completely alone she turned back to grave and cried a bit.

"_Wishing I could hear your voice again, knowing that I never would, dreaming of you, won't help me to do, all that you dreamed I could." _She sang to herself as her tears dripped down on the headstone.

She used her dress to dry the tears off the stone and continued on.

"_Wishing you were somehow here again, wishing you were somewhere near, somehow it seemed if I just dreamed somehow you'd both be here." _She continued to sing as she sobbed.

She took a few flowers from the display and placed them on the stone.

"_Too many years, fighting back tears, why can't the past just die!?" _she sang as she got up.

She took a tight grip on the scepter and started back to the gate. She turned back and took one last look at the grave.

"_Wishing you were somehow here again, knowing we must say goodbye, try to forgive, teach me to live, give me the strength to try." _She sang as she reached the gates.

Walking through them and shutting the gate behind her she walked back to the truck and wiped the tears from her eyes. Glinda was leaning against the bed of the truck waiting for Dorothy to emerge. She walked over to Dorothy and hugged her tightly, and soon they were in the truck and headed back to town. When they arrived the first stop they made was at the Teaks, since Glinda wanted to check on Alex before she returned to Oz to keep an eye on Em. As the truck pulled up that saw Alex sitting on the front steps whittling away a hollow tube. Annabella was sitting next him in her mother's lap watching intently.

"Mom, can you pass me the bowl of peas over there? I want to test this." Alex said pointing to a large bowl filled with dried peas.

Mrs. Teak nodded and passed the bowl over. Alex took one and placed it in his mouth. He then took the tube in his mouth and blew into it sending the pea shooting out. It hit the window of the truck with faint ticking noise. Henry emerged from the truck and chuckled as they all approached.

"Sorry about that Mr. Gale" Alex said.

"It's alright, you know there is more than one way to load that?" Henry asked.

"Yes I do Mr. Gale, hello Dorothy, Miss Glinda." Alex said

"Morning alex, just wanted to check in on you." Glinda said.

"I'm alright." Alex said going through his pockets and producing another wooden tube.

"That's your pea shooter Dorothy." Annabella said.

"Thanks Annabella." Alex said tossing it to Dorothy.

Dorothy caught it and looked at it. She then helped herself to a pea from the bowl and placed it in her mouth. She then brought the pea shooter to her lips and blew it in Alex's direction. The pea hit him in the side of the neck.

"What was that for!?" Alex asked rubbing where the pea had hit.

"For placing yourself in front of the jester's spells, what if it had killed you? I don't want to lose you." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy." Alex said sighing.

"Dorothy upset?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Yes Annabella, I'm angry at your brother." Dorothy said walking back up to the steps.

"Dorothy calm down please." Glinda said.

Dorothy looked at Glinda, then at Alex, then at her uncle, and then to Annabella. She took a few deep breaths and sighed. Letting go of the scepter and allowing it to follow her, she knelt down in front of Alex and helped him up. She then embraced him tightly.

"I'm sorry for snapping Alex, it's just." Dorothy started to say before Alex cut her off.

"Dorothy I know." Alex said.

"Whose truck is that?" Annabella asked curiously.

Dorothy and Alex both looked back at the front drive and saw a light green pickup pulling in. as it stopped a man and a women emerged as well as a girl who was about her own age. The girl was pale skinned and had flaming red hair. She was about Dorothy's and wore an outfit similar to her aunts. She approached the couple slowly but soon reached them.

"So, you must be Dorothy I assume?" The girl asked.

"Yes, you must be, oh you're the daughter of the Johnson's that Mrs. Teak was mentioning yesterday." Dorothy said.

"Eliza Johnson." She said stretching out a hand.

Dorothy shook the girl's hand. Alex however wasn't too happy to see the girl.

"Eliza." He said discourage.

"Alex." Eliza replied in a same tone.

"So, you two have met?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Distant cousins on his father's side." Eliza said.

"Not by choice." Alex said.

"You be careful with him." Eliza told Dorothy.

"Hey, he's changed." Dorothy said.

"Fat chance she'll believe you." Alex said.

"So, oh, look its Mr. Foreman." Dorothy said changing the subject.

They all looked and saw Mr. Foreman's truck pulling in. Mrs. Teak had already taken Annabella over to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and uncle henry had already engaged in conversation and introducing Glinda. Mr. Foreman got out of his truck and walked over.

"Ah, good morning Dorothy, Alex, Eliza, good to see your parents listened to me last night." He said chuckling.

"You're the reason my cousin is here?" Alex asked frustrated.

"You two really need to make up at some point." Mr. Foreman said.

"So is Aislynn with you?" Eliza asked curiously.

"You know Aislynn?" Dorothy and Alex asked in shock.

"Yes, sorry we couldn't make it to the Christmas party by the way, anyways now for the explanation." Eliza said.

"I'd love to hear it." Glinda said walking over.

"Hello, anyways, Aislynn and I used to have play dates when her father was still alive, we sort of lost contact when she went to live with her grandfather, but word got to us that she belongs to you." Eliza said.

"That is correct, well, school should be getting out in a few hours, why don't you guys come to the farm house?" Dorothy asked.

"I'll ask my parents if I can stay for the day." Eliza said.

"I don't think that would be a good idea my pretty." Came the voice of the jester.

Eliza screamed and jumped behind Dorothy. Alex and Dorothy looked around and then noticed the jester on the porch roof. Dorothy pushed Eliza to the side and grabbed the scepter.

"Why are you back?" Glinda asked.

"Can it Glinda, it's your new friend I wish to talk to." The jester said.

"Who is he?" Eliza whispered sharply into Dorothy's ear.

"He's a rather bad enemy that I made it's a long story." Dorothy said.

"Can it, as I was going to say, I'd avoid even being associated with her, and that's all I'll say." He said cackling wickedly.

Dorothy looked at him angrily. Alex offered her the bowl of peas. She took one and shot it at the jester through the pea shooter. Alex did the same. The peas hit him in the neck and the eye.

"Ouch!" the jester yelled before vanishing.

"I really hate him!" Glinda said.

"Eliza?" Alex asked looking at his cousin.

Dorothy looked at Eliza, she had gone as pale as a ghost. She looked as if she was about to faint. Alex chuckled and led his cousin over to the front steps. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were now being confronted by Glinda, Dorothy assumed that she was explaining what just happened. Dorothy smiled and walked over to Eliza. She was taking several deep breaths. Mrs. Teak and Mr. Foreman both walked over.

"Eliza dear do you need anything?" Mrs. Teak asked curiously.

"Mrs. Teak call the school, tell them Mr. Foreman is coming to pick up Ellie and Aislynn, Mr. foreman, you go get them." Dorothy said.

Mrs. Teak nodded and took Annabella into the house. Mr. Foreman nodded and ran back to his truck.

They waited for about ten minutes before Mr. Foreman returned. Aislynn literally bolted out of the truck and over to Eliza. Toto barked at them in confusion. Ellie walked over to her sister and helped explain.

"Eliza, it's wonderful to see you again, what happened?" Aislynn asked as they embraced.

"She met the jester." Alex said.

"Oh dear." Aislynn said.

"She's gotten a warning from him." Dorothy said as Mr. Foreman walked over.

"Eliza, I'm sorry I asked your parents to come here, Dorothy I'm sorry I didn't think about it." Mr. Foreman said.

"Don't worry Mr. Foreman, she's part of our group now, not that she has a choice at this point." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I brought something of yours by the way." Eliza said pulling out a small charm bracelet.

"How did you come by that" Aislynn asked.

"According to my parents Dorothy didn't take much with her when she left to live with her aunt and uncle, a lot of her stuff and her parent's stuff are at our house, well, technically its yours." Eliza said helping Dorothy put on the bracelet.

Dorothy looked at the bracelet and sighed. She remembered the day she had gotten this.

"_Dorothy!" her mom called._

"_Yes momma?" Dorothy asked walking into the room._

"_I have a surprise for you." She said._

"_Ooh I love surprises." Dorothy said running up to her mother._

_Mrs. Gale smiled and pulled out a small square box. She handed it to Dorothy opened it. inside was the charm bracelet. The bracelet only had one solitary charm on it, one of a heart. However at the time it was too large for her to wear so the first question that came to her mind was._

"_Is it a necklace?" Dorothy asked curiously._

"_It's a charm bracelet, one day you'll grow into it." She replied chuckling._

"_Thank you momma." Dorothy said hugging her mother tightly._

"Dorothy!?" Alex said.

Dorothy sniffed and looked up at him. She then realized she was crying again.

"You were remembering something having to do with the bracelet weren't you?" Aislynn asked.

"How do you mean?" Eliza asked.

"I'll explain later, hello Mr. and Mrs. Johnson." Aislynn said as they approached.

"Hello ace, my you've grown up." Mrs. Johnson said.

"She's really smart." Dorothy and Alex said in unison.

"We've always been aware of that, it's a pleasure to meet you at last Dorothy." Mr. Johnson said.

"Thank you Mr. Johnson, now what have my friends told you so far?" Dorothy asked.

"A lot that we don't understand." Mrs. Johnson replied.

"I figured, hers a condensed version, I've put you all in danger with my presence, that man wants me dead for several legitimate reasons end of story." Dorothy said.

"Yes, we sort of got that, but that women in the beautiful dress suggests we stay in town." Mr. Johnson said.

"Well, I'm not going to force you two to stay but I think it would be better if Eliza stays here." Dorothy said as uncle henry and Glinda walked over.

"The jester won't go after you guys if you aren't completely associated with Dorothy, and the only way you guys are association is through her old home." Glinda said.

"Can you put protection over the old house?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes I could." Glinda said.

"Well put them under your protection, not that it will help." Dorothy said as Glinda looked up at the sky and squinted.

"Incoming!" Ellie shouted as a large rock hit the ground next to her.

Dorothy and Alex both got up and looked up at the sky. They saw an entire swarm of flying monkeys swarming around the house. Alex grabbed a handful of peas and placed a few in his mouth. He then ran to where Ellie was and began firing peas at monkeys. He sent several flying in the other direction away from them. Dorothy then quickly got up and started sending balls of light at the monkeys. Glinda was doing the same thing. It wasn't long before someone took notice from next door. Mr. and Mrs. Teak came out of the house to see the commotion. Mrs. Teak screamed and ran back inside. Mr. Teak just stood there, frozen to the spot.

"Alex go defend your dad and cousin, Dorothy and I will take care of things over here." Glinda said.

Alex nodded and ran over to the porch taking more peas and shooting at the monkeys. However it wasn't long before people came to watch the spectacle. Glinda sent a few minor spells up at the monkeys and they began swarm closer.

"Enough! I think they get the point, Troops Retreat." Came the voice of the jester.

A larger monkey flew down and screeched out. The monkeys all screeched in return and flew straight up and out of sight. Dorothy sighed in relief leaned against the truck.

"Okay I really hate him." Glinda said.

"Me, Too." Dorothy said panting.

They were met with a thundering applause from the people who had shown up. They all thought it was a show. That's how they wanted it to be. Dorothy didn't want everyone in Kansas to know about the jester. It wasn't long after however before Officer Grey showed up and cleared everything out.

"Glinda you go check to see if the Johnsons and Mr. Teak are okay." Dorothy said.

Glinda nodded and walked over to them. Alex walked back over to Dorothy. He hugged her tightly and they both walked over to Officer Grey.

"So, it's getting bad then?" Officer grey asked.

"Sadly." Dorothy said.

"I think it'd be best if we keep up the idea this is all a game then." Officer grey said.

"I think this is just the beginning Officer Grey." Henry said walking over.

"I know henry, thank lord Em isn't here." Officer grey said.

"Luckily." Henry said.

"So, now what, hey is that the Johnson family?" Officer Grey asked.

"Yes, and they have met the jester." Dorothy said,

"Oh dear." Officer grey said.

"Yep." Dorothy said.

Dorothy looked over to them. Dorothy looked at Alex and dragged him back towards the house. As they got to the doorstep he took control and started dragging her instead. He dragged her upstairs and into his room slamming the door behind them

"Dorothy, what have you gotten us into this time?" Alex asked.

"Hey don't get mad at me, I never asked for this." Dorothy said.

"I know but now we have just about my entire family involved now." Alex said.

Dorothy hung her head in defeat then looked around the room. She had never seen the room at all. It was one of the only rooms of the house she hadn't seen aside from the basement, the attic, and Mr. and Mrs. Teak's bedroom. The room was plain in look. The walls were painted with beige pain and the desk on the other end of the room had different pairs of dance shoes lined up next to each other. The bed she was sitting on was plain looking with a grey blanket covering it. The dresser and the wardrobe pretty much blended in with the surroundings.

"Alex, I'm sorry." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, I know it's not your fault that they are here, but our problem with the jester is." Alex said as Dorothy got up.

"No there is no our problem, the jester wants to get rid of me, and I don't want any of you guys to get in the way." Dorothy said.

"Are you two done making theatrics?" Ellie said opening the window at the back of the room.

"How'd you get up there?" Alex asked curiously.

"My sister helped me move the ladder, your mother said this was probably the best possibility to gain entrance." Ellie said.

"Ellie go back outside, you need to help ace with the Johnsons" Dorothy said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have gone back to their own house Glinda just departed after them, Eliza is in the living room with Mr. and Mrs. Teak, Toto and Annabella, and your uncle has brought Aislynn back to the farm house." Ellie said.

"Why'd they leave Eliza here?" Dorothy asked.

"She'll be safer with us, you know that." Ellie said walking over.

"Ellie, I don't want to put any more people in danger." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy listen to yourself for a minute, the jester's power has destroyed the down with a tornado, sent flying monkeys, twice, turned you into a cat, attacked Alex, and now this." Ellie said.

"Well what do you suggest I do then?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"There isn't anything you can do." Ellie said.

"Ellie, please, just go." Dorothy said.

Ellie sighed and went back to the window. Climbing out of it she looked at Alex and gave him a stern look.

"Take care of her." She said shutting the window.

Alex saluted and wrapped his arms around Dorothy. She embraced him and began to cry.

"Alex, I-I-I don't k-k-know what I'm going to do." She said sobbing into his shoulder.

"Dorothy, please, calm down, we'll think of something." Alex said.

"Alex listen, I said there is no we!" Dorothy shouted.

"Dorothy it's going to take more than just you to defeat the jester." Alex said.

"I've bested him before I can do it again!" Dorothy shouted

"Dorothy, before we go any further, take a few deep breaths." Alex said.

"Alex, I'm not going to explode again." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, please calm down." Came the voice of aunt Em from the mirror on the far end of the room.

"Auntie Em, is Glinda with you?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes she is sweetie, and she's told me what happened, she's heading back to the teak residence, do you think it would be a good idea to bring Eliza here?" Em asked.

"I don't know auntie." Dorothy said before bursting into tears again.

"Dorothy, please, calm down, look we'll bring you guys here." Em said.

Dorothy didn't even get a chance to object before she felt herself lurch forward. She was too upset to even notice the feeling of dizziness. She then felt herself land on her bed in the emerald city with the scepter now floating right next to her. Her aunt was sitting on the bed and Glinda was standing next to her. The only person actually doing anything however was Alex who was on the floor gagging.

"Auntie Em, I've dragged so many people into my mess." Dorothy said hugging her aunt.

"Dorothy, I know sweetheart." She said stroking her niece's hair.

"Auntie Em how can you and uncle henry be so calm about all of this? I mean, I'm putting your unborn child in danger." Dorothy said.

"Or children." Alex said through his retching.

"Whatever." Dorothy replied.

"Dorothy, your uncle and I have complete faith in what you guys are doing, and sticking with you guys has kept us pretty safe so far." Em said.

"So!? What if one of us fails or slips up?" Dorothy asked.

"Dorothy, if it happens it happens." Em replied.

"Mrs. Gale, I think Dorothy might want to be left alone." Glinda said.

"Actually Glinda, right now I think the clearing would be a good place to go." Dorothy said.

"Well the river hasn't thawed completely yet, so Tugg can't travel safely, so I'll have to send you myself." Glinda said.

Dorothy nodded and took hold of the scepter. Letting go of her aunt. The scepter then began to glow. Alex quickly staggered up and grasped onto it just as Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. The journey was quick but Dorothy still found Alex on the ground of the clearing gagging and retching. Dorothy sniffed and walked to the center of the clearing. Letting go of the scepter she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. She sobbed for what felt like hours before she felt a hand on her back. She looked up and found Alex as well as Glinda.

"Dorothy, it's getting late, everyone wants you to return to the city." Glinda said.

Dorothy sniffed and got up. She pulled Glinda into a tight embrace. And then did the same to Alex.

"How long was I crying for?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Um, a few hours." Alex said pulling out his pocket watch then referring to the setting sun.

"Glinda, let's go back." Dorothy said.

Glinda nodded and gestured to the scepter. Dorothy smiled and took it. She then felt herself lurch forward and suddenly they were in the chambers. She was immediately pulled into a tight embrace by Ellie.

"Dorothy, you two were gone for so long we were worried something might have happened to you two." Ellie said.

"Ellie, don't worry, you know Alex and I can take care of ourselves, Glinda sent me to the clearing so I could have some crying time." Dorothy said returning the embrace.

"Well at least you had the scepter." Glinda said.

"Thanks Glinda." Dorothy said before releasing Ellie from the embrace.

"You feeling hungry?" Glinda asked curiously.

"Not really." Dorothy said.

"Well, have an apple anyways, you can keep it on your bedpost." Glinda said tossing Dorothy an apple as well as her keys.

Dorothy smiled and put the ribbon of keys around her neck. She then walked out of the chambers without saying a word.

"I really worry about her sometimes." Alyssa said walking in.

"We all do Alyssa." Elena said walking in behind her.

"So, where's his majesty?" Glinda asked.

"They are all at the scarecrows private chambers." Alyssa said.

"And the china princess?" Glinda asked.

"She returned to her room with her husband, how's Mrs. Gale?" Alyssa asked.

"She's fine." Glinda said.

"Good, how's the other one?" Alyssa asked.

"I'm going to check up on her." Glinda said.

"Well then, I guess we're set, do you need any of us for anything?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"Yes, round up the other girls, I have a mission for you, all of you, but it is to remain a secret from Dorothy, it pains me to do this but it needs to be done, you too alex, promise me you won't tell." Glinda said glaring at him.

Alex immediately crossed his heart out of fear. Alyssa ran off to retrieve the others, everyone who was already there drew in close to Glinda. On the inside it hurt all of them to keep this a secret from her, but it had to be done. For Dorothy's sake.

_**Credits "Wishing you were some how here again" ALW **_

**Well it's been a while since I did an ending note. But here it is. Remember to leave a review, follow if you'd like. Also after the next two chapters I will jump forward nine months to the birth of Dorothy's cousin/cousins I haven't decided yet.**


	53. The next morning

**Disclaimer, the usual**

Dorothy awoke the next morning to find herself, surprisingly, still in her bed in the emerald city. It was still dark out so she assumed it was pretty early. She held her hand out for the scepter and then waved it at the lamp. The lamp clicked on and Dorothy heard the sound of Toto barking. She shushed him and then left her bedroom. She listened for the sounds of anyone nearby but it seemed everyone was asleep. She went in the direction of Glinda's room knowing Glinda would most likely be awake. Looking down at the light blue night gown she had change into she sighed and walked on. As she approached Glinda's room the door opened to reveal her sitting at a table staring into her crystal ball.

"Three in the morning, that's a first being unaided by a nightmare." Glinda said chuckling.

"Thanks Glinda, love you too, is Alex awake?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Last I checked he got up and was reading." Glinda said waving her hand over the crystal.

The image of Alex sitting at the desk in his room reading a book appeared in the crystal. He had his reading glasses on. Dorothy chuckled and looked at Glinda.

"Which way to his room?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Down the hall to the left, it's the white ebony door." Glinda said.

Dorothy nodded and walked out of the room. She followed Glinda's instructions and headed to the left. It didn't take her long to find Alex's room since it seemed to be the only door in the hallway. She waved the scepter over the door and the locked clicked open.

"Who is it?" Came Alex's voice.

"It's me." Dorothy said opening the door.

Alex turned around from the desk and took off his reading glasses. He got up and walked over to Dorothy.

"Why are you up so early?" Alex asked curiously.

"Why are you always trying to hide your reading glasses from me?" Dorothy asked.

"Fair enough." He said putting them back on.

"I think they make you look handsome, auntie Em is always trying to make me get a pair, but I can read just fine." Dorothy said.

"Even with the night vision?" Alex asked chuckling.

"Oh shut up." Dorothy said giggling.

"Anyways why are you here?" Alex asked curiously.

"You're the only one who I think will really listen to me at the moment." Dorothy said walking over to the bed and sitting down on it.

"Depends on what you need." Alex said walking over to the desk and marking his page, he was about to close the book when he took off his reading glasses and handed them to Dorothy.

"Why do I want these?" Dorothy asked.

"Just try them on." Alex said.

Dorothy nodded and tried them on, somehow they seemed to fit her just as well as they fit Alex. Alex then went into the desk and pulled out a small book. Handing it to Dorothy,

"Read a few pages of that and tell me if it looks better." Alex said.

Dorothy nodded again and flipped through the small book. She couldn't lie it actually made things look better. She nodded and Alex chuckled.

"I can't deny it, it does look clearer." Dorothy said.

"Go figure." Alex replied still chuckling

"So are you going to say I told you so, or are you going to let my aunt do all the nagging?" Dorothy asked giggling.

"I think you might want to see how you look in glasses first." He said.

"Not really." Dorothy replied.

"Why not dear?" came Glinda's voice from over by the door.

Dorothy and Alex both turned around and looked at Glinda. She was standing in the doorway with auntie Em at her side.

"Morning auntie Em." Dorothy said.

"Good morning Dorothy." Em said chuckling.

"So, is this the part where I get the 'I told you so speech'?" Dorothy asked.

"No dear." Em said walking over to her niece.

"Did my mother have reading glasses?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Both your parents did, your mother never used hers though, she thought they made her look stupid." Em said.

"That's why I don't like the idea of having reading glasses." Dorothy said taking off the glasses and handing them back to Alex.

"I think they make you look cute." Alex said.

"Thanks dear." Dorothy said looking at him.

"Mrs. Gale, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but why are you even awake?" Alex asked curiously.

"I woke up to grab a snack, couldn't get back to sleep, went to Glinda, and here I am." Em said.

"Was wiser in the kitchens again?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Where else would he be?" Em asked.

"Good point, so, I guess I'm going to have to go with uncle henry to get some ready glasses at some point?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Well, we have a shop here in the city, wiser gets his spectacles replaced every few weeks after 'landing practice'" Glinda said chuckling.

"I guess that's fair enough, how long till they open?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I'm not sure if the place ever closes, I mean I've been there a few times myself at very early hours." Glinda said.

"Why?" Dorothy and Alex asked in unison.

"Dad doesn't like the stores in your world, they give him new spectacles here for free." Glinda said.

"Okay, fair enough." Dorothy said, Alex nodded in agreement.

"Well, I think we should leave you two to finish your conversation." Em said.

"I agree." Glinda replied.

"Well see you two at breakfast." Em said before she and Glinda walked out.

As they left Dorothy looked at Alex and then got up. She walked over to the desk and looked at the book.

"What were you reading anyways?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"History." Alex replied.

"Ah." Dorothy replied.

"Want to go into the business district and see if we can get you some reading glasses?" Alex asked curiously.

"I can't think of anything better to do, so sure why not, let's go change into some regular clothes first." Dorothy said.

"Meet you at your bedroom in let's say ten minutes?" Alex asked taking out his pocket watch.

"Sure." Dorothy said walking over to the door.

Alex smiled and nodded. Dorothy smiled back and walked out. She then took off in a sprint back to her bedroom. When she got there she found Toto sitting on her bed as if waiting for her. She quickly ran into her closet and grabbed her usual dress. She then quickly ran out and into the bathroom. It didn't take her long to change into it. As she emerged she found Alex sitting on her bed with his pocket watch in hand.

"That was eleven minutes." He said chuckling.

"Oh shut up." Dorothy said giggling.

"Well, get the slippers out of your satchel and let's go." Alex said tossing it to her.

Dorothy caught the satchel and pulled the slippers out. She set them on the floor and slid them on. She then slung the satchel over her shoulder and turned towards the door.

"Where are you guys going?" Toto asked curiously.

"The business district." Dorothy replied.

"Can I come?" Toto asked.

"Sure boy." Dorothy said.

"So, are we going?" Alex asked.

"Yes, let's go." Dorothy said tightening her grasp on the scepter and walking towards the door.

"Great." Alex said getting off the bed followed by Toto and walking after her.

They walked in silence till they reached the doors that lead out into business district. Dorothy looked at Alex and did a fake cough to see if Alex was listening.

"Yes?" Alex asked.

"I've never been in the business district at night, I mean I know that we are relatively safe here in the city, but stay close to me, both of you." Dorothy said looking at both of them.

"Good idea." Alex said, Toto merely barked in agreement.

They walked along the street of the business district. Almost every shop window was dark. It didn't take long for them to find the shop that Glinda had mentioned because as they walked by they saw wiser inside through the window getting new spectacles fitted on his beak. Dorothy looked at Alex, he shrugged and opened the door and the three of the entered in. the shop keeper looked over at the early customers and nearly fell off the stool he was standing on when he laid eyes on Dorothy.

"Good morning Dorothy, alex, Toto." Wiser said.

"Good morning wiser." Dorothy said.

"Miss Gale, what brings you here at this hour?" The shopkeeper asked stepping off the stool and bowing.

"Please don't do that, and please, just call me Dorothy please." Dorothy said walking over to the shopkeeper.

"Sorry Miss gale." He said getting.

"Suffering from insomnia then?" Wiser asked curiously.

"Yes." Alex replied.

"So, what brings you two here then?" Wiser asked curiously.

"I'm going to try reading glasses." Dorothy said.

"Ah, I'll get you fitted with some as soon as I'm done with wiser here. " The shopkeeper replied getting back on the stool.

"Auntie Em said you were in the kitchen when we talked to her last." Dorothy said turning to wiser.

"Yes, I was, and Brianna pointed out that one of my lenses were cracked." Wiser said.

"Is she always awake at this hour?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes, she spends the first few hours of the morning helping the chefs get ready for breakfast and then she goes back to bed." Wiser said as the shopkeeper finished fitting the spectacles.

"How's that?" the shopkeeper asked stepping down from the stool.

"It's great." He said pushing them up his beak.

"Well, try to be more careful, you end up in here more than you used to." The shopkeeper replied.

"Well I practice landing a lot." Wiser said walking over to the door.

"So I assume I'll see you in a week?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Probably, unless my aviation skills improve." Wiser said walking out of the shop.

"Well we can hope." Dorothy said.

"Have you ever flown with him?" Alex asked curiously.

"Twice, he doesn't land real well." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough." Alex replied.

"So, reading glasses, is there any style which you would prefer?" the shopkeeper asked,

"Just plain old reading glasses thank you." Dorothy said.

"Plain, um, let's see what I've got." He said looking around at the frames.

Dorothy sighed and sat down on the stool the shopkeeper had been standing on. She looked at Alex who was staring out the window at the dark streets. Then all of a sudden Glinda appeared in front of them

"So, I see you found the place." Glinda said.

"Ah Glinda. After I'm done with Miss Gale here, I'll get your father's new glasses." The shopkeeper said taking out a pair of reading glasses similar to the ones Alex had.

"I know what's on your mind right now." Glinda said kneeling down in front of Dorothy.

"I imagine you do." Dorothy replied chuckling.

"You're wondering what the point of having reading glasses is." Glinda said placing a hand under Dorothy's chin and tilting her head up so they were making eye contact.

"Well, yes." Dorothy said.

"Dorothy, trust me, in your life time you'll find more uses for plain old everyday objects than you probably think possible, I mean think of the possibilities." Glinda said.

"Like for example, the lenses on my glasses reflect a lot of light and can be used to signal someone, or stun someone as a joke." Alex said chuckling.

"I'm guessing you've done that before?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Yes." Alex replied as the shop keeper walked up to them

"These are the plainest designs I have." The shopkeeper said holding up two sets of frames.

The first ones were similar to Alex's only that the frames were painted dark brown whereas Alex's looked like polished brass. The second set were polished brass but the lenses had sort of a half-moon design going for them, it reminded Dorothy of the glasses Mrs. T the librarian sometimes wore. She picked up the ones that looked similar to Alex's and held them up to the man.

"So, that's your choice then? Or would you prefer them in blue so they match your eyes?" the shopkeeper asked curiously.

"Well, um, actually I'd like them just plain, without paint if you have them." Dorothy said.

"We do, but are you sure?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not one for anything fancy." Dorothy said.

"Fair enough, what's that Miss Glinda?" the shopkeeper asked referring to a folded up piece of paper in Glinda's hand that wasn't under Dorothy's chin still.

"It's an order, for a new set of prescription glasses." Glinda said handing him the paper.

"Who for?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Dorothy, don't be nosey." Alex said.

"Sorry." Dorothy said.

Toto looked up at them and barked a few times. Glinda looked down and Toto and scratched him behind the ears. The shopkeeper smiled and walked back over to his stock before unfolding the paper and reading it.

"When was the last time you went to an optometrist?" Alex asked curiously.

"the day after Mr. Digg's funeral, Dr. Karol had an opening at it had been a while, so Auntie Em took me and once more tried to insist I get reading glasses, why?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"Just curious." Dorothy replied as the shopkeeper walked back over with a plain looking set of reading glasses.

"Will these do?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Perfect." Dorothy said.

"Well, I just need to get them fitted and then get the lenses in and your free to take them." He said.

"That's good, anyways, can the order be done?" Glinda asked.

"I'm a little backed up at the moment but if you come back in a month I can have them done by then." He said bending the bows on the frames to a slight angle and handing them to Dorothy.

She smiled and took them, trying on the frames she found that they fit perfectly. She smiled and handed them back to the shopkeeper nodding. He smiled and brought them over to the counter. It only took him a few seconds to get a set of lenses into the frames and brought them back over. Handing them back to her she tried them on again and rummaged through her satchel. After a few seconds she pulled out her little pocket compendium and rifled through the pages. They definitely made things more clear, she assumed she could eventually find a use for them.

"I think they make you look cute." Glinda said smiling.

"Thanks Glinda." Dorothy said giggling.

"That reminds me, how are your old glasses holding out?" The shopkeeper asked Glinda.

"You have glasses?" Dorothy asked Glinda in surprise.

"Have had them, for a while, I just don't use them as often as I should, there was an accident with a potion that ruined my vision slightly when I was in school." Glinda said.

"Oh, does Ellie know?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She's the only soldier in my entire army that knows I have a pair." Glinda said.

"Well she is your sister." Alex said.

"Right, anyways, thank you for your assistance sir." Dorothy said standing up and curtseying to the shopkeeper.

"The pleasure is all mine to have helped the savior of Oz." he said.

Dorothy smiled and grabbed Alex's wrist. She then dragged him out of the shop with Toto following at their heels.

"You see what I have to contend with, at least this time there aren't any reporters around." Dorothy said as they walked back to the castle.

"Tell me about it." Alex replied.

"So, do you really think I look good in glasses?" Dorothy asked taking them off.

"Dorothy would I lie to you?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Dorothy replied.

"Good point, bad question, but I'm being completely honest, you look good with glasses." Alex said as they got back to the palace.

"I think you look nice with glasses." Toto said

"Thanks boy." Dorothy replied as they walked past the library.

Alex looked back and grabbed Dorothy's sleeve. She looked at him curiously as did Toto.

"Don't say anything just listen." Alex whispered.

Dorothy nodded and walked over to the library door. It was slightly ajar allowing her to hear what was going on.

"So you think she'll like it?" Came aislynn's voice.

"I'm sure she'll love it, it will be a nice addition, I saw it when she came back after crying." Came scarecrows voice.

"Scarecrow, can I have a second to check something?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"Sure, what is it?" Scarecrow asked curiously.

"You know, it's not nice to listen in on other people's conversations, Dorothy, Alex!" Aislynn shouted.

Dorothy sighed and looked at Alex. He shrugged and they pushed open the door.

"What are you two doing up at this hour? And in day clothes?" Scarecrow asked as they walked in.

"We were in the business district." Dorothy replied.

"You weren't making trouble were you" Aislynn asked.

"No, we were getting me a pair of reading glasses, turns out my aunt was right." Dorothy said putting the glasses on again.

"I like them." Aislynn said walking over.

"So do I." scarecrow said following.

"I think they make you look grown up." Aislynn said before taking Dorothy's free hand and dropping something in it.

Dorothy looked at it and smiled. Aislynn had gotten her a charm for her charm bracelet. It was a charm of a little book. Dorothy smiled and hugged Aislynn before going into her satchel and pulling out the charm bracelet. Alex assisted Dorothy in attaching the charm.

"Thanks' ace, I love it." Dorothy said.

"I figured you would, anyways, thank you scarecrow for your help." Aislynn said before walking out.

"No problem." Scarecrow replied.

"Well, Alex and I are going to head back to my room, don't over work that brain of yours." Dorothy said chuckling.

"Now you know I can't promise that." Scarecrow said chuckling.

Toto barked a few times and Dorothy picked him up. And they walked out. When they returned to Dorothy's room neither of them were surprised to find Ellie and Glinda sitting on her bed. Ellie, like she and Alex was also in her normal day clothes. Dorothy set Toto down on the ground walked over.

"Nice glasses." Ellie said as Toto ran over and began pawing at her shoes.

"Thanks." Dorothy said looking at her dog.

"Toto I thought you were over that." Ellie said kicking her shoes off and surrendering them to Toto.

"So, he likes your shoes for some strange reason?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Ellie said.

"Toto, why do you like playing with Ellie's shoes anyways?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"I find it fun." He said before he started toying around with the shoes.

"You find it fun? Okay then." Dorothy said shrugging and taking off her satchel and hanging it on the bedpost.

"Well he finds it fun just let him do it, it's not like he's doing them harm." Alex said.

"I know." Ellie replied.

"Well, I'm going back to my room, I have stuff that I need to get accomplished." Glinda said getting up and walking out.

"Okay sis, see you at breakfast." Ellie said.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to her desk. She had left a few of her sketches out. She picked up the papers and stacked them up neatly. She then took off her glasses and put them in her pocket.

"So, what are we going to do about Eliza?" Ellie asked curiously.

"How should I know?" Alex asked.

"I think we should bring her here, I'm not sure she'll take it well but it's safer than letting the jester get to her." Dorothy said not even turning to face them.

"I don't know, like you said she probably wouldn't take it well." Alex said.

"Well she's your cousin." Ellie said taking out her red ball and throwing it against the wall.

"Well, I think Dorothy and I should go back after breakfast and ask her opinion." Alex said.

"I think that would be best." Em said walking in.

"Thanks auntie Em." Dorothy said walking back over.

"So, I ran into Aislynn on my way here, she said she was going back to her room to change and then she'd come here." Em replied.

"That's good." Ellie said.

Dorothy smiled and walked over to her aunt and hugged her.

"Glinda told me you actually went out and got some reading glasses." Em said chuckling.

Dorothy pulled them out of her pocket and put them on.

"They make you look grown up." Em said chuckling.

"That's what I said." Aislynn said walking in.

"Auntie Em, are you sure these don't make me look silly?" Dorothy asked.

"No, they don't, they make you look grown up and cute." Em said.

"Why don't you look in a mirror?" Aislynn asked curiously.

Dorothy shrugged and walked into the bathroom. She walked over to the sink and looked in the mirror. She couldn't deny that they did make her look nice, and that they did make her look more mature. But she didn't want to wear them unless she really had to. She emerged from the bathroom and took off her glasses. She looked at her aunt and her friends and smiled.

"As usual you guys were right." she said in defeat.

"We told you." Alex said.

Dorothy walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek causing him to blush. Everyone chuckled at this for a minute. It was then that the clock struck five in the morning and Dorothy realized they had been up for two hours already.

"Well, it's going to be time for breakfast soon." Em said walking towards the door.

"See you there auntie Em." Dorothy said.

_Meanwhile back in Kansas._

Henry had arrived at the Teaks in order to check on Eliza. He was however tackled over by Annabella.

"Dorothy with you?" Annabella asked.

"Sorry Annabella, Dorothy is in Oz with your brother at the moment, where's your mother?" Henry asked curiously.

"Annabella!" Mrs. Teak shouted.

"Never mind." Henry said picking up Annabella.

Mrs. Teak ran out of the living room carrying a compress. She saw henry and sighed with relief.

"Good morning henry, I assume you want to see Eliza?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Judging by the compress I'm assuming she isn't taking it well?" Henry asked walking over to the living room entrance and saw Eliza lying on the couch, pale as a ghost and shivering.

Henry sighed and walked Annabella over to the play pen and set her down in it. He then walked over to Eliza and knelt down next to her.

"I think she's just been really shaken by this." Mrs. Teak said.

"Send her to Oz at some point." henry said.

"How well to you think she'll take it?" Mrs. Teak

"Not at all, but at least it's safer there." Henry said.

"Well I'm glad you're here, my husband and I have been alternating all night watching her, and would you mind watching her and Annabella for an hour so that I can get my husband and me some food and get some rest?" Mrs. Teak asked.

"Not at all, you guys need your rest, don't worry." Henry replied.

Mrs. Teak smiled and walked out. Henry sighed and placed a hand on Eliza's forehead. She felt as if she had spent five minutes out in cold rain. He sighed and sat on the floor next to the couch and watched. He didn't know how long he had been there until he had looked at the clock and saw that it was quarter to seven. It was then that Dorothy, Alex, and Glinda appeared behind him. Glinda sighed and walked over to Eliza. Placing a hand on her forehead she sighed and waved her wand over the girl. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up, coughed and shivered.

"Why am I freezing?" She asked rubbing her arms.

"Eliza, you've be like this all night, I'll explain later, right now what you need is some tea." Glinda said as Dorothy pulled a thermos from her satchel.

She handed it to Glinda who took off the lid and poured some tea into the lid. She then handed it to Eliza who curiously sniffed it and took a sip. She sighed and everyone watched as color slowly returned to her face. Glinda placed the back of her hand on Eliza's cheek and chuckled.

"That really helped, I'm guessing I've been out for a while?" Eliza asked looking outside.

"Yes, I put you in a dreamless sleep spell and had your aunt and uncle watching you, henry showed up earlier this morning." Glinda said.

"Eliza feel better?" Annabella asked.

"Yes Annabella." Eliza said getting up and walking over to her cousin and picking her up.

Annabella looked at Eliza and struggled to get out of her arms. Dorothy sighed and got up. And stood in front of Eliza.

"Give Annabella to me." Dorothy said letting go of the scepter and holding out her arms.

Eliza sighed and handed her to Dorothy.

"Even before she could talk she never liked me holding her." Eliza said.

"She's only a little more than a year old." Glinda said screwing the lid back on the thermos.

"I know but I only got to see her three or four times, and even now she doesn't like me." Eliza said.

"Well Dorothy's name was her first word." Alex said walking in with a large sack of peas.

"You know you can also use dried corn kernels?" Henry asked.

"Yea, but peas are easier to get as well as cheaper." Alex said.

"You could always get some from us." Dorothy said.

"I'll remember that." Alex said.

"Anyways, stupid question, but why are you to here? I mean I understand Glinda being here but why you two?" Eliza asked.

"We were wondering if you'd liked to come to Oz with us. Either now or later, it doesn't matter to us." Alex said.

"Well, I'd like to have some food in me first." Eliza said.

"Fair enough." Alex replied.

"Food's in the kitchen." Mrs. Teak said stiffing a cup of coffee.

"Thanks auntie." Eliza said.

"Good to see you with a bit of color." Mrs. Teak said

"Thanks again." Eliza said.

"No problem dear, and Alex, are those all the peas?" Mrs. Teak ask curiously.

"Yes mother." Alex replied.

"Looks like I'm going to the store then." Mrs. Teak said

"I'm going to go grab myself some food, then you guys can show me this place you were talking about." Eliza said walking out of the living room.

"Can I come?" Annabella asked curiously.

"Sure." Dorothy said setting Annabella down on.

"Yay!" Annabella said hugging Dorothy's legs.

"What's Annabella excited about?" Eliza asked walking in eating an apple.

"She's coming with us." Dorothy said

"Well can we go now?" Eliza asked curiously.

"Sure." Glinda said waving her wand in a long flourishing motion.

Instantly Dorothy felt herself lurch forward. She felt Annabella's grasp on her legs tighten. After a minute Dorothy felt herself and Annabella land on her bed in the emerald city. This was surprising because that wasn't where they departed from, they had all departed from the banquet hall after breakfast. It wasn't long however before Ellie and Aislynn ran in.

"So, you two ended up in here, the others are in the chambers, Eliza is currently vomiting into a bucket." Aislynn said.

"Ah, so she's not taking it well?" Dorothy asked.

"Not at all." Ellie replied walking over to the bed and picking up Annabella.

Dorothy smiled and smoothed her dress, she then picked up the scepter and got up. She then took Annabella from Ellie and set her on the ground. Annabella then took off sprinting out of the room and in the direction of the chambers. Aislynn sighed and ran after as Dorothy and Ellie followed. When they all got to the chambers they found Annabella in Glinda's arms. Eliza was on the floor retching into a bucket. Alex was standing a good distance away with scarecrow and Lion. They saw Dorothy and walked over to her.

"So, who's your friend?" Lion asked curiously.

"Alex's cousin Eliza, is my aunt around?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"She's in the kitchen baking." Scarecrow said.

"Oh, she wanted to keep herself busy?" Dorothy asked.

"Yes." Lion replied sniffing the air.

"What's in the air?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Smells like fresh apple Pie." Lion said

"Oh, did she know we were getting a visitor?" Dorothy asked.

I don't know, Glinda talked to her last before you guys left." Lion said.

"Then probably, she almost always makes apple pie when we have guests." Dorothy said.

"That's neat, what does it taste like?" scarecrow asked curiously.

"Well, um, sweet, depending on the apples a little bit sour, but in a good way." Dorothy said.

"Oh." Scarecrow replied.

"So, who's our visitor?" Auntie Em asked walking in covered in flower.

"Auntie Em you're a mess." Dorothy said giggling.

"I know." Em said dusting off her overalls.

"It's the Johnson's daughter." Ellie said.

"She's my cousin." Alex said walking over.

"Oh, I haven't seen her since she was a little girl, I'll go help her." Em said walking over to her.

Dorothy smiled and watched as her aunt helped Eliza rubbing her back in a circular motion. She watched as she helped Eliza up and led her over to Dorothy. Eliza immediately placed a hand on Dorothy's shoulder.

"Do you go through this every time you come here?" Eliza asked still sounding like she needed to vomit.

"Yes." Dorothy said.

"You have my respects." Eliza said.

"You get used to it after a while." Alex said walking over.

"You have my respects as well cousin." Eliza said.

"Thanks." Alex said.

"Don't mention it." Eliza said.

"So, this is the emerald city, these are some of my friends." Dorothy said gesturing to the scarecrow and lion.

Eliza looked at them, she approached scarecrow first. He held out a hand for her to shake and she did. Lion then held out a paw for her to shake. She did rather reluctantly and then backed up over to Dorothy. It was then that something dawned on Dorothy.

"Where is tin man?" Dorothy asked curiously.

"He's currently with the china Princess and the Marshall Mallow out in the garden courtyard." Scarecrow said.

"You're Majesty!" Came the voice of one of the soldiers as he ran in.

"Yes?" Scarecrow asked rolling his eyes.

"We got a message from the queen of the field mice." The soldier said handing him a piece of paper and then running out.

Scarecrow unfolded the small piece of paper and quickly read it. He chuckled and handed it to lion. He to read it and chuckled as well.

"What's so funny?" Eliza asked curiously.

"The queen of the field mice wanted to know if she and her subjects could stay in the emerald city, she knows she doesn't have to ask." Scarecrow said walking out of the chambers.

"Well, I should probably go with him." Lion said walking out after the scarecrow.

Dorothy smiled and walked up to her aunt. She then embraced her tightly. The scepter took on a warm welcoming green glow. Glinda saw this and walked over.

"Emily, you should probably go get some rest, remember, you're with child and as soon as the signs start becoming more prominent none of us will allow you to be out and about all the time." Glinda said smiling.

"You're pregnant?" Eliza asked curiously.

"Yes dear." Em said turning to Eliza.

"Congratulations." Eliza said.

"Thank you." Em replied as Dorothy backed up from the embrace.

The glow of the scepter subsided and Glinda chuckled. Em sighed and decided to go back to the kitchens to wait for the pie to be done. Eliza looked around the room curiously.

"Didn't your uncle come with us?" Eliza asked curiously.

"No, he's still back in Kansas." Glinda said.

"So what's the story with the jester? And I mean the full story." Eliza asked.

"That's going to take some time to explain, come with me and I'll tell you the entire story." Glinda said offering her hand to Eliza.

She nodded and took Glinda's hand. Glinda then led her out of the chambers and to her room. Dorothy chuckled and looked at Alex. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek causing her to giggle and blush. Annabella ran over followed by Ellie and Aislynn. She then quickly put her hands in Dorothy's dress pocket and pulled out the reading glasses. They all chuckled as Annabella tried them on. Dorothy smiled and took them from her and put them on her own face.

"I like them." Annabella said smiling.

"Thank you Annabella." Dorothy said picking her up.

"So, Eliza's getting the full story from my sister, what do you guys want to do in the mean time?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Well I was thinking Dorothy and I could do some target practice with our pea shooters." Alex said.

"We could set something up for that if you'd like." Ellie offered.

"Sure, why not." Alex said smiling.

"Well, come on ace." Ellie said taking aislynn's hand and running out of the chambers.

Dorothy looked at Annabella, then to Alex. She then handed Annabella off to Alex and walked over to one of the windows. Staring out at the landscape that was the land of oz. she knew Eliza would like it.

**Well that's one chapter, after the next chapter will be a jump to the birth of Dorothy's cousin/cousin's still haven't decided. Also the reading glasses will have a future purpose other than for getting compliments.**


	54. Later

**Disclaimer, you know.**

The day for all of them went by pretty quickly. Dorothy and Alex managed to get some target practice in with help of Ellie and Aislynn having set up a few targets out in the field by the river. Eliza had gotten the full story with the jester and spent a good majority of the day watching Annabella with the help of Dorothy's aunt. Now it was seven in the evening and everyone was sitting in chambers enjoying a slice of pie with the exception of the scarecrow, Tin man, and Marshal Mallow. Annabella was sitting on Em's lap and Toto was sitting on the floor next to Dorothy.

"This one of your best pies yet auntie Em." Dorothy said smiling.

"Thank you dear." Em replied.

"So, when can I go home?" Eliza asked curiously.

"Well, as soon as I get all means of protection up around your parents' house." Glinda said.

"Didn't you do that when you went with my parents the first time?" Eliza asked.

"I did what I could at the time, but I have a lot to deal with." Glinda said.

"Fair enough, anyways it's not technically our house, we just take care of it until Dorothy is old enough." Eliza said

"I'm not sure I even want to go near my old home." Dorothy said sighing.

"I didn't mean to upset you by mentioning it." Eliza said.

"It's okay, it's just that I really don't like thinking about my childhood that much." Dorothy said finishing her slice of pie and getting up.

"Going to your room?" Alex asked finishing his pie and getting up as well.

"Yes." Dorothy said grabbing the scepter.

"I'll come with you." Alex said.

Dorothy nodded and walked out of the chambers followed by Toto and Alex. Eliza looked at Em worriedly and sighed.

"I didn't upset her did I?" Eliza asked.

"No, I don't think so, she just really doesn't like thinking about her parents." Em replied.

"Yea, she gets a bit depressed whenever anything about her childhood or her parents are mentioned." Ellie said.

"Oh, well I'll try not to mention it." Eliza said.

"Good idea." Tin man said.

"Thanks." Eliza replied.

_Meanwhile at Dorothy's room._

When they got to Dorothy's room Dorothy walked straight over to the desk, put on her reading glasses and began to sketch. Alex stood behind her the entire time and watched in silence. After a few minutes Dorothy looked back at him and smiled picking up her sketch.

"So." Dorothy said.

"So?" Alex asked.

"What do you think of my sketching?" Dorothy asked holding up the picture of the land outside the window

"Dorothy, it's beautiful, you do a wonderful job of capturing the details" Alex replied.

"Thanks." Dorothy said taking off the reading glasses and setting them down on the desk.

"I think you are a wonderful artist." Toto said.

"Thanks boy." Dorothy said picking him up.

Alex chuckled and took Dorothy's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"So, the school dance, should we go? Or shall we wait till next year?" Alex asked.

"I think we should wait till next year." Dorothy said smiling.

"Fair enough." Alex said

"Anyways, why don't we get in some dancing practice?" Dorothy asked.

"Sure." He said.

Dorothy smiled and they began dancing together in the middle of her room. Together they looked like a perfect couple dancing together. Dorothy felt comfortable dancing with Alex, though he was more professional at it than she would ever be. After maybe ten minutes or so of dancing they decided to take a rest only to be met with the sound of clapping. Dorothy and Alex turned around and were confronted with the sight of jester balanced on the bedpost.

"Bravo, oh bravo." He said continuing to clap.

"What are you doing here?" Dorothy asked frustrated.

"Oh, nothing really, just figured I'd watch this spectacle for real rather than through a crystal ball." He said jumping off the bedpost.

Dorothy was about to say something in response when Glinda and Auntie Em ran in. Em was about to run over to the Alex and Dorothy when the jester took out the wand and aimed it in her direction. Em stopped in her tracks and put up her hands.

"Don't you dare do anything to harm my aunt" Dorothy said.

"Why, she's someone you care about, and that seems to be the best way to get to you." The jester said chuckling.

"But you'd be putting her unborn child at risk." Glinda said taking a step forward.

At this point the jester's face drained completely of color. He hadn't been aware at all that this woman was with child. Did he miss something? He was confused. He looked at Em for a moment and then at Glinda who could see he was confused.

"If I had known she was with child I would not have made such a threat, my apologies." He said looking guilty.

"No, need to apologize, the look of confusion about all of this was enough, it's just things get really stressful whenever you show up." Glinda said.

"Well then, I'll tell you what, I'll leave you all be for nine months, just enough time for her to give birth, no stress from me, no attacks, until she is holding the newborn in her arms, that's what my sister would do." The jester said walking over to Glinda.

"I think that's a fair enough deal." Glinda said extending her hand out to the jester.

The jester smiled and took her hand and shook it. As their hands touch a bunch of sparks from their hands. As soon as they broke from the handshake the jester smiled vanished. Dorothy and Alex looked at Glinda curiously.

"What was with all the sparks?" Alex asked.

"The deal was made, that was the deal extending itself around both lands, he cannot get anywhere near here or your world until the day Dorothy's aunt is holding her newborn." Glinda replied.

"That's good, I'd rather be rid of the jester permanently, but it's good enough." Dorothy said.

"Yes, nine whole months, probably won't be any less stressful." Glinda replied.

"You can bet." Dorothy said.

"Well, anyways, I'm heading back to Kansas, to put more protections on Eliza's house, not taking any chances." Glinda replied walking out of the room.

"Good idea." Dorothy said yawning a bit as Glinda left.

"Well, I'm going to my room, if you need anything it's the room down the all oak door on the right." Em said.

"Thanks auntie Em." Dorothy said.

Em smiled and walked out of the room leaving Dorothy, Alex and Toto alone. Dorothy smiled and walked over to her bed and sat down. She held out her hand for the scepter. As it reached her hand she leaned it against the bedpost and lay back. Sliding off the slippers she yawned and stretched.

"Getting tired?" Alex asked.

"Yea, I think I may turn in early." Dorothy said.

"Well, I'll leave you alone then." Alex said smiling and walking out.

Dorothy smiled and chuckled. She then shifter herself in bed and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she was asleep.

**Well sorry this chapter was so short, but I promise the next chapter will be longer. And remember that the next chapter jumps ahead nine months to when Dorothy's Cousin/Cousins are born.**


End file.
